


Batman & Penguin: A Telltale AU

by elodus19



Category: Batman: The Telltale Series (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2018-12-14 07:22:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11778225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elodus19/pseuds/elodus19
Summary: A retelling of Telltales Season One of Batman. In it, Oswald Cobblepot grew up with Bruce Wayne, and together they fight to rid Gotham's streets of crime as Batman and Penguin.





	1. Best of Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a retelling, so It's gonna take me a while. All I ask is that Y'all be patient with me. Constructive criticism is welcomed. The beginnig takes place before the game.

The Cobblepot Tragedy:

They were gone. His mom had gone insane, and his dad killed himself.

They were gone. The Wayne’s and the police were here, probably wondering what to do with him now that he had been orphaned.

They were gone. There were tears rolling down his cheeks, light sniffles escaping form him every so often. There was a light knock on his door. “Oz?” It was Bruce. “Can I come in?”

Oswald wiped his face before answering with a soft “Yeah”. Light filtered into the room as the young boy opened the door. Oswald screwed his eyes shut as the light fell on him. There was a dip in the mattress next to him, and he opened his eyes to see Bruce’s face looking at him with concern.

“You okay?” It was a stupid question, in Oswald’s mind. But Bruce was just trying to comfort him.

“Not really,” He replied. “Just… can’t wrap my head around it, is all.” There was suddenly a warm hand wrapping around his own. He looked down at their hands, then back up to Bruce.

“I know you probably don’t wanna talk about it,” Bruce said. “I just want you to know that I’m here for you, if you ever need it.” Oswald nodded and looked back to the ground. There was silence for a while, comfortable between two friends, but heavy because of one’s tragic loss.

“Uh,” Oswald’s voice was wobbly, meaning another crying fit was coming on. “Do you know, um, what they’re gonna do with me?”

“Mom says she wants to take you in,” Bruce answered. Oswald’s eyes went wide. “Dad agrees with her. Dunno about what the police think about it though. Said something about keeping you in a foster home for a bit.”

Oswald sniffled. “They w-won’t let that happen, will they?”

“Of course not,” Bruce replied with a reassuring smile. “I’m sure they’re fighting to keep you right now.” Oswald smiled at his friend and his words of comfort.

“Thanks Brucie,” Oswald said, with a small grin. “Means a lot, ‘specially from you.”

“Oswald?” Both boys looked to the door to see Martha Wayne standing there. “Hi there sweetie.” Martha gave the boy a small smile.

“Hello Mrs. Wayne,” Oswald replied. “What did they say downstairs?” He would be lying to himself that he wasn’t scared. Scared that the Wayne’s would send him away and he wouldn’t be able to see Bruce ever again.

“Looks like you’ll be staying with us from now on,” Martha said. “We’ll have the proper paperwork filled out by tomorrow.”

“Really,” Oswald asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.

“Of course sweetie,” Martha replied as she walked towards Oswald. She bent herself downward to be face to face with Oswald. “You’re like family to us, Oswald.”

Oswald felt the tears before they fell, and buried his face in his hands. “Are you okay Oswald?” Oswald, unfortunately, began hiccupping and couldn’t answer him.

“Don’t worry Bruce,” Martha said, taking hold of Oswald’s other hand. “Something tells me those are tears of joy.”

Oswald wiped the tears from his face. “I was scared,” he said after the hiccups finally stopped.

Martha raised a brow. “Why were you scared?”

“I thought you wouldn’t want me.”

“Oh honey,” Martha said before she wrapped Oswald in a tight hug. “We could never get rid of you.” Martha gingerly picked Oswald up from his bed when she stood up. “Bruce, get Alfred and have him pack up some clothes real quick. We’ll send for the rest of his things tomorrow.”

Bruce nodded before hurrying off to fetch the butler. Martha made her way downstairs to the doorway of the former Cobblepot Estate. When she gotta the car outside, Thomas was there with the door open, waiting for them.

“How’s he holding up,” Thomas asked.

“He’s still reeling,” Martha replied. “It would do him some good to be around people who know and care about him.” Thomas nodded as Martha put Oswald into the backseat of the car. Bruce and Alfred soon emerged from the house, Alfred carrying a briefcase, and Bruce bringing along a toy of Oswald’s.

“What Do you have there, Bruce,” Thomas asked.

“It’s Oswald’s favorite toy,” the young boy answered.

“Bruce said it would help Oswald,” Alfred explained. “What with him moving into our house with nothing else but the clothes on his back, it would do for him to have something familiar of his own.”

“That’s so sweet of you Bruce,” Martha cooed. She gently set Oswald in the back of the car before climbing in herself. Bruce followed after her, and then Thomas climbed in and closed the door behind them. Alfred went to place the luggage in the trunk before he climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Don’t worry Oz,” Bruce said as he took Oswald’s hand. “Everything will be fine now.” Oswald couldn’t help but smile at his best friend’s words of comfort.

They were gone, but he was far from alone.

* * *

 

Murder of the Wayne’s:

Bruce and Oswald were sitting in the police station, being watched by Jim Gordon, the newest member of the GCPD.  They had just finished giving the police their statements and were waiting on Alfred to come and pick them up. It had barely been two years since Oswald was orphaned, and now Bruce had lost his own parents.

Oswald had started holding Bruce’s hand when the police finally arrived on the scene and hadn’t let go since. Bruce still hadn’t cried though, which was a bit worrying. The detective had said something about Bruce still being in shock. Oswald didn’t understand it much, but he would be there for Bruce, just like he was there for Oswald.

It wasn’t long before Alfred made his appearance. He spoke very briefly with Gordon before he gathered both of the boys and led them to the car. Once Alfred had seen them to the back and closed the door, Bruce broke down crying. Oswald Immediately hugged his Bruce’s head to his chest, and Bruce gripped back with a fierceness.

“Why did this happen,” Bruce cried out. “Why did he kill them?”

“I’m so sorry, Brucie,” Oswald said as he rubbed Bruce’s back. “I don’t know. I wish I di though.”

“I hope they catch him.” Bruce hiccupped. “I hope he rots in prison.”

“I feel the same way,” Oswald replied. “I’m sure Mr. Gordon will catch him. He promised, remember?”

Bruce nodded as he sat back up. “What’s gonna happen now? What about the company?”

“Your parents had set up something for that, just in case,” Alfred answered from the driver’s seat. “Wayne Enterprises will be run by the board, until such time you come of age. After you graduate from college, you will be inaugurated as the new CEO.”

Bruce looked back to Oswald. “See there,” Oswald said with a smile. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”

“Oh, they did add something in their will for Oz as well.” Both boy looked back to the front of the car. “The added you to their will, stating that when you graduate from college, you will also have a place in Wayne enterprises. Part of the Wayne fortune will also be in your name.”

Oswald looked wide eyed at Alfred before looking to Bruce. “That’s wonderful Alfred,” Bruce said. “We’ll be working together when we get older.”

Oswald took Bruce’s hand once again. “And we still have each other.”

“I will see to it that you both are taken care of,” Alfred said. “From here on, you are both in my charge.”

“Everything’s gonna be fine, Brucie.” Oswald sat back, still holding his friends hand. “We’re gonna be okay.”

Bruce smiled at his friend’s words, knowing full well that all was going to be okay.

* * *

 

The Batcave:

Finding the giant cave had been an accident at best. Bruce, now fifteen years old, and Oswald, Now fourteen, had been playing outside the Wayne Manor. There was a bit of rough housing before Bruce had managed to escape from Oswald’s grip. Suddenly, Bruce tripped and fell down the hill. Oswald chased after him before Bruce managed to stop himself. When Oswald caught up, they both had discovered the mouth of a cave.

They traveled inside and discovered a giant cave system. Both boys marveled at the sheer size of it. “I never knew a cave existed here,” Bruce said out loud. His voice echoed within the cave.

“Is this right under the manor,” Oswald questioned. “This is pretty cool. It’s almost like a secret lair of some kind.”

“It could be our secret lair,” Bruce suggested. “It’d be a pretty cool place to hang out.” Suddenly, something moved past both of their heads at breakneck speed. Both were surprised, and turned to see a bat flying around.

“Caught me by surprise,” Oswald sighed out.

“A bat cave, huh?” Bruce looked up. “It’s pretty massive in here, don’t you think?”

“Yeah it is,” Oswald replied as he looked up himself. “Could probably make a whole other room in here if you wanted.” Bruce suddenly had a thoughtful look on his face. “Uh-oh, don’t like that look.”

“What look,” Bruce asked.

“Ya know the one,” Oswald replied. “The one that usually lands us both into trouble.”

Bruce laughed. “But I thought you were the trouble maker?”

“I usually am,” Oswald said. “But sometimes your bright ideas land us further into trouble.” Oswald laughed to himself. “So what is going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

“There it is,” Bruce said slyly. “You calling me pretty again.”

“Don’t try to wiggle out of this one Bruce,” Oswald said, a little flustered.

“Nothing much just…. A thought.” Oswald raised a brow at that.

“What do you mean?”

“I just…..” Bruce sighed. “Ever since they captured my parent’s killer, I’ve been thinking about all the suffering going on in Gotham right now.” Bruce turned to Oswald. “I keep thinking maybe there was something I could do to stop it, to stop what Gotham has become.”

“You mean crime ridden and practically run by the mob?” Oswald laughed. “Nothing you or I could do about that.”

“But what if we could?” The question took Oswald by surprise.

“Where is this going?”

“What if we could stop the criminals? The terrorists, the mobsters, the killers; what if we could stop them from hurting anymore innocent people?”

“You mean like, become a superhero or something?” Oswald didn’t like what Bruce was saying. “That’s crazy talk Brucie.”

“Yeah, I know.” Bruce hung his head. “But this city was created and run by our parents. I just want to protect their legacy. I want to protect the people.” Bruce looked over to where the cave bat had rested. “It’s not like we don’t have the money for it.”

Oswald placed a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “If you’re saying what I think you’re saying, then I won’t let you do it alone.”

“Oswald.” Bruce smiled and placed his hand over his friends.

“Truth is, not a day goes by that I don’t think about what happened to your parents.” Oswald withdrew his hand and looked around the cave. “They took me in when my own parents were no longer there. And then I think about their killer rotting behind bars and wonder how many other lives he destroyed.”

Oswald balled his fists. “Then of course there’s the rampant crimes rates growing every day. We don’t see a lot of it, but you see it on the news all the time.” Oswald turned back to face Bruce. “If you’re going to do this, then you can count me in, yea?”

Bruce smiled gratefully at his friend. “Alright then.” The boys shook hands in agreement before they heard Alfred shouting their names.

“Better get back and let the old man know we’re okay. Don’t want him to keel over from a heart attack.” Bruce laughed at Oswald’s joke as they made their way out of the cave.

* * *

 

After High School:

“It’s a letter from Cambridge.” Oswald and Bruce were sat in the rec room of the manor. It was three days after their high school that Oswald had received a letter from Cambridge. They were the leaders in the tech industry, and that was why he had applied there in the first place.

Bruce was wringing his hands together in anticipation. “Well, are you going to open it?”

“Geez Brucie, you’re more wound up about this than I am.” Oswald chuckled nervously. The letter felt heavy in his hands, even though it was just paper. “What if they don’t accept me in?”

“They will,” Bruce replied confidently. “They’d be stupid not to.”

“But what if they don’t? All of our plans hinge on this ya know.” Oswald was practically shaking, fear running through his body. Bruce placed a hand on Oswald’s wrist, and the shaking nearly stopped.

“If they don’t, then we’ll find another school,” Bruce said. “Every plan has its bumps, but we’ll get around them, just like we always have.” Oswald felt oddly comforted by his best friend’s words.

With a nod to himself, he took the nearby letter opener and opened the envelope. Oswald scanned through the words, as Bruce sat there and watched his friend’s stoic face. Oswald soon go to the end of the letter. Oswald continued to stare blankly at the letter, which started to concern Bruce.

“Hey Oz,” Bruce said to get his friends attention. Oswald turned his head and looked at his friend. “What does it say?”

Oswald closed his eyes. “It doesn’t look good Brucie.” Bruce let out a sigh of disbelief, but suddenly Oswald smiled and turned the letter over to Bruce. “Looks like I won’t be seeing you’re pretty face for a while, cause I’M GOING TO CAMBRIDGE!”

Bruce immediately hugged his friend. “That’s great news, Oz! I knew you’d get in!”

“Can’t believe I doubted ya, Brucie.” Bruce retracted himself, a wide smile on his face.

“So I take the shouting was good news then?” Both boys looked to the door to see Alfred standing there with two wine glasses and a bottle of wine.

“Sure is Old Man,” Oswald replied as he got up to go and hug his pseudo father. “Managed to worm my way into Cambridge.”

“I’m sure you managed to do more than just that,” Alfred said as Oswald pulled away. “I never doubted you could though. I’m very proud of you.” Oswald and Alfred smiled at each other.

“So what’s with the wine glasses, Alfred?” Bruce had joined them by this point, stood behind Oswald.

“Oooh does Alfie have a hot date tonight,” Oswald cooed. “Go on then, tell us all about the pretty birdie.”

“I would if I could,” Alfred replied as he moved back to the bar and set the glasses down. “But this is for celebration.” He produced a cork screw from his front pocket and popped the wine bottle open. “Bruce got into Gotham University, and now you got into Cambridge.” He filled the wine glasses as the boys took their seats. “So I managed to find the bottle of wine Master Thomas wanted you to have after your graduation. Took me awhile to find it.”

“So you’re gonna let us drink alcohol, simply because we graduated,” Oswald asked.

“It was supposed to be your first taste of adult life, as Master Thomas put it,” Alfred replied. “But if you’d rather not…”

“Let’s not be hasty Alfred,” Bruce said, quickly picking up his glass. Oswald was quick to follow, and the boys clinked their glasses together.

“Herse to being one step closer to our goal,” Oswald toasted.

“To being able to protect Gotham with our own hands,” Bruce replied.

“Cheers then,” Alfred said.

* * *

 

Gotham Airport, One week before College:

“I can’t believe this is it,” Bruce said, sadly. Oswald stood before him, bag on his back and suitcase by his side.

“Don’t be too sad about it Brucie,” Oswald replied, grin on his face. “We’re only going to be a few hundred miles apart.” Bruce chuckled. Besides, you’ll still have good old Alfie here looking out for ya.”

“It just won’t be the same without you here,” Bruce said, looking to the floor.

“Oh, come on now. Don’t be like that.” Oswald’s brought his hand up to Bruce’s chin and forced them to meet eyes. “Come on now, I’ll be back during breaks. Not like you can get rid of me that easily anyway.”

Bruce huffed a laugh, then smiled. “You know the manor is just as much your home as it is mine.”

Oswald nodded. “Yea, I know that.” They stood there awkwardly before a voice over the intercom stated that Oswald’s flight was boarding. “Guess it’s time for me to go.” Bruce nodded solemnly. “Do me a favor yea? Keep up our ‘little project’ while I’m gone.”

“Of course Oz,” Bruce replied. “I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, Brucie,” Oswald replied quietly. Reluctantly, he picked up his briefcase and turned to get to his plane. He made it a good ten feet before he turned around, dropped his brief case and ran back over to Bruce. Oswald quickly embraced his longtime friend in a fierce hug, and Bruce hugged back just as fierce. When they pulled away from each other, Oswald looked up at Bruce with a smile.

“Just one last thing before I leave,” he said.

“And what’s that,” Bruce asked, brows furrowed. With a grin, Oswald grabbed onto the front of Bruce’s dress shirt and pulled him into a kiss. Their teeth clanked together painfully, but Oswald didn’t stop. After a minute, Bruce pulled Oswald closer and started kissing him back with just as much passion as Oswald was.

When they finally pulled away from each other, both of their faces were flushed with a pink tint.

“Wow,” Was all Bruce could say.

“Couldn’t leave without a goodbye kiss,” Oswald replied slyly. “See you round, Brucie.” And with that, he ran back to pick up his briefcase and catch his flight.

Bruce simply stood there, dumbfounded by what had just happened. He watched As Oswald made it past security, then smiled. “See you later Oz.”

* * *

 

Bruce’s Inauguration:

Bruce stared at himself in the mirror, adjusting his navy blue tie every so often. “Nervous about the speech?” Alfred stood nearby, watching Bruce turn into a nervous wreck.

“Is it that obvious?” Bruce wiped down his black suit of imaginary dust.

“You are a bit more… fidgety than usual,” Alfred replied. Just then the door opened, and in walked Oswald.

“Well Brucie, you sure do clean up nicely,” Oswald commented. “That tie I picked out really does bring out your eye color.”

Bruce looked back to glance at Oswald, when his breath was taken from him. “Looks like I’m not the only one who cleans up well.” The other man stood there in a gray suit, black shoes white shirt, and yellow tie. “You look stunning.”

“OH, stop,” Oswald replied, batting his arm in a dismissive manner. “But please, continue.”

Bruce laughed. “Well which is it?” Bruce walked over to Oswald, wrapping his arms around his waist.

“Compliment me, of course,” Oswald replied with a smile, wrapping his arms around Bruce’s neck.

“You look gorgeous, as always,” Bruce replied with a light kiss. “Nothing in this room is as stunning as you are.”

“I take offense to that, Master Bruce.” Both men looked over to Alfred. “Why, back in my heyday, I was a rather dashing young man myself.” Bruce and Oswald chuckled at that.

“I’m sure you had all the birdies running after you as well, right Alfie?” Oswald winked at Alfred.

“Humph, I’ll have you know I had my fair share of women wishing for me to court them. But alas, duty called.” Alfred had a whimsical look on his face for a moment before looking at his watch. “Ah well, if we’re ready then, perhaps we should head for Wayne Enterprises then.”

Bruce groaned. “Do I seriously have to give a speech?” Oswald gave him a comforting pat on the back.

“What else would they expect from the newest CEO of the company,” Oswald replied. “Besides it’s just a formality. You should be used to giving speeches by now.”

“I am,” Bruce said. “But this will be my first one as their representative.”

“If you’re worried about mucking it up, don’t worry,” Oswald said. “It’s your first day on the job. I’m sure the board would forgive you about being nervous.”

Bruce thought on it a moment. “I suppose you’re right.”

“I know I’m right,” Oswald replied confidently. “Besides, Alfred and I will be there to support you.”

“Not to mention you’ll have Oswald working under Lucius, so you won’t be lacking in friends at work,” Alfred piped up. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine Bruce.”

“Listen to the old man Brucie.” Bruce couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Alright, alright, I know when I’m outnumbered.” Bruce gave Oswald a light kiss. “Okay, I think I’m ready now.”

“Good, can’t keep the press waiting any longer than we have now.” Oswald took Bruce’s hand and led him to the front door. “Just think of it like another bump on the way to our goal.”

“We’ll always find a way around it, “Bruce replied.

“Exactly.” Alfred opened the front door for them, and all three of them got into the car in front of the house. “Another step, then the Batman can take the scene.”

“With his trusty partner, Penguin,” Bruce said with a smirk.

“Bah, how you came up with that name I’ll never know,” Oswald said with a playful sneer.

“You just remind me of a penguin somehow,” Bruce replied. “Especially with that yellow tie.”

 


	2. Realm of Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Penguin manage to stop a burglary at Mayor Hills office, but then have to deal with Carmine Falcone crashing their party. Rumors about the Wayne Family start to circulate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of imagine Oswald would still have his English accent in this Au, he just doesn't use British slang.

Across from City Hall, Nighttime:

“You see them?” They were situated on top of the building across from city hall, watching the burglars make their way to the mayor’s office.

“Six in total, five armed, one with a saw.” Batman looked over to Penguin. “Looks lie there’s something in the office that they want.”

“Best not to let them have it then, eh?” Penguin took the grappling he had hooked onto his back and, with the press of a button, shot it to the roof. “Think you can handle these guys while I secure the roof?”

Batman grabbed his grappling hook and aimed it at the side of the building. “No problem,” he said before firing.

“I’ll make the call to Gordon then,” Penguin said as Batman made his descent. He lightly tapped his earpiece, making sure to turn on his voice disguiser. “Gordon, they’re on the 52nd floor.”

“Wait for backup,” Gordon replied, the sounds of chaos in the background.

“Too late for that,” Penguin said before turning off his earpiece. Another quick button press and the umbrella began spinning, enough so Penguin could get to the rooftop without too much hassle.

\--

Inside the building, Batman was quick to dispatch the first of the six men there. He knocked him out and quickly tied him to the chair. The second one was easy enough, while they were distracted with their friend, Batman grappled the second one from the elevator shaft and quickly dragged him into it. He quickly made his way above his enemies next, seeing three of them were now back to back, with one still sawing at the steel door.

He dropped a smoke bomb between the three convicts in the middle. Quickly and quietly, he grappled two of them and knocked them out. The third ran over to the man at the door, turned, and began firing haphazardly across the room. With Practiced aim and precision, Batman quickly took out the thug’s gun with a batarang.

He quickly hung up the criminals bodies before dropping amidst the dissipating smoke, showing off his intimidating figure. Batman was quick to move after that, taking on the last of the thugs in hand to hand combat. The guy at the door was quick to move out of the way, not wanting to get caught in the middle.

Batman and the thug traded blows, until ultimately Batman punched the guy so hard, part of his mask had shattered. Batman aimed his grappling gun at the door, attaching to it and letting the cord drag him so he could deliver a final, brutal kick that sent the thug flying through the door.

The thug tried to get up using the desk, but Batman was quick to smash the other’s head against it. It took a second for the masked hero to notice another in the room, who had opened the safe already. “Didn’t anyone teach you how to knock,” the woman in a tight leather suit and goggles asked. She grinned before adding, “Look out by the way.”

  
Batman dodged an incoming back attack from the guy with the saw, knocking the saw away and him out. The cat burglar was quick to make her escape though. It didn’t take her long to reach the elevator doors she had propped open with a trash can and hop into it. With a flick of her whip, she removed the trash can, effectively blocking Batman’s way.

“Penguin,” Batman said after tapping his earpiece.

“What’s wrong love, one get away from ya,” Penguin replied with a playful tone.

“Something like that,” Batman said. “There’s an unexpected party crasher heading your way. She has some kind of data pad on her.”

“No worries love,” Penguin said. “Leave her to me. You tie up those men nice and pretty for the police.”

“I’ll be up soon.” With that, Batman turned off his earpiece and began getting down and tying up the thugs.

After Batman’s call, Penguin soon saw who he was talking about as the cat burglar came bursting through the door. “Oh you have got to be kidding me,” She said while she took in his attire.

Penguin stood there in a suit and hood, umbrella folded and rested against his right shoulder, and what looked to be a gas mask with a long beak. “Hello there, kitten,” Penguin said. “You must be new in town. Haven’t seen the likes of you here before.” He had heard of this one before, went by the name of Catwoman

Catwoman sighed. “First the bat guy, now a freak with a beak.” She laughed. “What are you guys supposed to be anyway? What kinda guys go around wearing weird costumes and masks to stop a bunch of thieves?”

“The kind who aim to protect this city,” Penguin replied. “Specially from the likes of you.”

“A hero huh?” Catwoman scoffed. “Guess that makes me the villain. Sounds like fun.” Catwoman was the first to make a move, swiping her claws at Penguin. He was quick to block the attack with his umbrella before making a left hook. There were a few punches and kicks thrown before Catwoman managed to give a kick to Penguin that sent him back far enough for her to try and get away.

“No you don’t, kitten.” Penguin was quick to give chase. Catwoman was stopped from jumping off the building by a helicopter that had risen up to film what was going on. A giant headlight had blinded Catwoman a bit, long enough for Penguin to catch up and resume their fight.

There was a fair bit of hand to hand, and Catwoman trying to scratch Penguin, until Penguin got the upper hand and threw her off the helicopter landing, away from the ledge. When Penguin dropped back down is when the Gordon and his officers burst through the roof door. Gordon had to intervene though when the officers raised their guns to fire.

  
“Don’t shoot, stand down,” He shouted. Penguin nodded to Gordon, then narrowly dodged a scratch attack from Catwoman. Penguin quickly blocked the next attack, then followed up with grabbing her leg pack then throwing it to the far wall, along with a knife to attach it to the wall.

Catwoman looked taken aback that someone managed to get one over on her, and she was pissed. Her anger soon turned to shock when Penguin held up the data pad.

“So what’s so important on this that you and a bunch of thugs would risk your lives for it?” Catwoman simply shrugged.

“I tend not to ask questions,” She replied. Before Penguin could do much of anything else, a shot rang out and a searing pain ripped through Penguins right side. Looking back showed one of the officers with their gun raised.

“Goddammit, I said stand down,” Gordon shouted. Catwoman took this as her chance to escape, turning and running straight for the news copter.

“Not so fast kitten,” Penguin mumbled before he took out a bulky circular device from his inner jacket pocket. He took aim before he threw it at her back. Unfortunately, it hit her just as she was jumping, and shocked her before she could make contact with the helicopter. As soon as she started falling, Penguin cursed under his breath and ran and made a dive off the edge of the building.

The descent was fast, but it was a good thing the buildings were tall as hell. Once penguin managed to get her in his grip, he took her magnetic tool, threw her over his shoulder, and attached the device to the side of the building. The tool helped to slow the descent greatly, but Penguin had to drop the burglar as he landed, rolling down one roof and landing on another.

He looked up to see Catwoman still falling, and grabbed her by the wrist. That seemed to jolt her awake though as she sighed in relief after she looked down.

“Well, didn’t think you’d be able to catch me,” Catwoman said as she looked at Penguin. “I’m actually kinda impressed.”

“Yeah, well, I couldn’t very well let you fall now could I,” Penguin said. Slowly, Penguin began pulling Catwoman upwards. She grabbed onto his bicep to help pull herself up. Once they were face to face, Catwoman grinned.

“See you later, champ.” She swiped at his chin, which left a mark, and quickly grabbed Penguins grappling hook as he lost his grip. Penguin nearly shouted out, but was surprised to find Catwoman dangling from one of the sky trams with his grappling hook.

“Clever little kitten,” Penguin said in afterthought, as he watched Catwoman disappear around a building.

“Oswald, are you alright?” Alfred’s concerned voice emanated from his earpiece.

“Doin just fine, Alfie,” Penguin replied. “Just hanging around.”

* * *

 

Wayne Manor, Two Hours Later:

Bruce hissed as the final pieces of glass were removed from the earlier break-in. “Easy there, love,” Oswald said as he rubbed Bruce’s back. “All done, no worries.”

“I swear, you two are going to be the death of me,” Alfred piped up from the bar. He pulled clothes from an emergency box, setting them up to be used by their proper owners.

“Someone has to do this, Alfred.” Bruce stood and hissed again once Oswald started applying the alcohol rubs to his wounds.

“Yea old man,” Oswald piped up, “how else are we supposed to strike fear into the criminals of Gotham?”

Alfred sighed. “While it would be beneficial to build up your mythos, you are both still flesh and blood.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Oswald replied as he applied the final dressings to Bruce’s back. “There, all done.” Oswald gave Bruce a light pat on the back.

“You’re getting better at this,” Bruce commented. “Took you a lot less time.”

Oswald motioned to his own dressed wounds on his side. “Yea, well, kinda have to learn from experience.”

Bruce winced and stepped forward to lightly touch the wound. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s a bullet wound, Brucie,” Oswald replied with a smirk. “Hurts less now though. It’s dulled down to a light throb.” Oswald smiled, giving Bruce a light peck on the lips. “But we have more pressing matters right now.”

“Agreed,” Alfred said. “Harvey has managed to capture everyone’s attention with his opening speech, but it should be drawing to a close soon. Best for the both of you dress up now.”

Bruce sighed. “I hate social events.”

Oswald chuckled. “Yea well, we’re the ones backing Harvey.” He grabbed his shirt and slowly slipped it on and buttoned it up. “We made our bed, time to lie in it.”

Bruce, already with his shirt on, grabbed his tie. “I’d rather lie in bed with you.” Oswald grinned goofily, jacket in hand.

“I’d lie with you all day, if we could afford to,” Oswald said.

“Not a bad idea,” Alfred said as he walked towards the door. “Might be good for you both to take a day for yourselves for once.”

“Put it on the calendar, Alfred,” Bruce said as he and Oswald stood in front of the door. “A day for ourselves, possibly next year.”

“Oh ha-ha,” Oswald said in a mock tone. “Hold on a sec there Brucie.” Oswald reached over to fix Bruce’s tie. Once he was satisfied, he placed his hands in his pockets. “How do I look?”

“Stunning, like always,” Bruce replied. “But…” Bruce licked his thumb and swiped at the scratch that the Catwoman gave him to remove the blood there. “Better.” Oswald raised a brow, but nodded none the less.

“Hope you two are prepared to mingle,” Alfred said as he opened the doors to the sound of applause.

“When are we never,” Oswald asked as he took Bruce’s hand.

They didn’t go far from the parlor, seeing as the main hall was crowded with people, and stood by one of the pillars Harvey stood at the top of the stairs, addressing everyone at the party. “Thank you, now if only my backers, Bruce Wayne and Oswald Cobblepot could hear-“Harvey cut himself off when he noticed Bruce and Oswald. “Well speak of the devil, look who arrived.”

Most of the people had turned to see Bruce and Oswald stood there. “Thanks for taking the time to join us today. Say ‘Hi guys’.”

“Hi guys,” Bruce and Oswald replied together, which got the party goers to laugh.

“That’s how we three work; I set ‘em up, Bruce and Oz knock em down.” Harvey continued his speech, and once he finished everyone clapped. The district attorney made his way down the stairs, and towards Bruce and Oswald. “Fellas, I know the mansion is big, but it’s not so big you’d get lost in it.” Once he was in front of the two, he whispered, “Where have you two been?”

“Sorry Harv,” Oswald spoke first. “You know how it is between two lovebirds.”

“That isn’t funny, Oz.” Harvey looked to be freaking out.

“Easy Harvey,” Bruce said, gaining his friends attention. “We were busy with some last minute business.”

“You two work the midnight oil more than any other person I know,” Harvey sighed.

“Well we’re here now,” Oswald said, then adjusted his tie. “Just fashionably late is all.”

“That’s one way of looking at it.” Harvey gave out another sigh. “But I know you’re both going to make it up to me.” Harvey stopped one of the caterers to grab a couple of champagne glasses. “Time to cozy up to some potential voters.”

Oswald took one of the glasses. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Says you,” Bruce replied as he took the other glass and leaned against a pillar. “You’re more sociable and charming.”

“You can be charming too,” Oswald replied. “Just so happens you mostly charm my pants off.”

Harvey Interrupted. “As much as I love the little back and forth between you two, we really should get busy.”

Bruce sighed. “Alright then, time to mingle.” He downed his glass in one go as he followed Harvey and Oswald to a table.

“Gentlemen these are-“

“Bob and Regina Zellerbach,” Bruce finished. “No need to introduce these two.”

“Fancy seeing you both here,” Oswald greeted the older couple.

“A pleasure as always, boys,” Regina greeted. “It’s such a lovely party.”

“Thank you, Regina,” Bruce said, and looked to Harvey. “Regina here is a chairperson for Wayne Enterprises, and Bob-“

“Voted for Mayor Hill last election,” Bob interrupted. “I’ll be honest with you Bruce, I don’t know Mr. Dent here from a pot-hole in the road.”

“Oh come on now, Bob,” Oswald Chipped in. “Harvey here only wants what’s best for Gotham, same as the rest of us.”

“Yes, I’m hoping to pave over those holes, and of course do more,” Harvey added. “In fact, we’re currently building a new state of the art mental health facility, and it will be in the memory of the late Martha and Thomas Wayne.” Bob bad Regina looked downtrodden at the mention on their names.

“Oh it must not have been easy for you boys all these years,” Regina said. “Thomas and Martha were the pillars of this city. But I’m sure they’d be proud of the men you’ve both become.”

“Thank you, Regina,” Bruce replied. “But today is about Harvey, and the good he can bring Gotham.” Bruce looked over to Oswald, only to find him staring off somewhere. “Oz?”

Oswald jolted back to the conversation. “Ah, yes, of course.” Oswald flashed a smile as he got back into the conversation. “Harvey is definitely the type of man you want in city hall.”

“Well, I for one think politicians are nothing more than puppets,” Bob said. “But I trust your family, Bruce. If you boys believe in him, then he has our vote.”

“I agree,” Regina replied. “You can count on us in the next election Mr. Dent.”

“Well thank you,” Harvey said. “I’m glad I can count on the both of you. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have more guests to greet.” Bob shook hands with Harvey and the trio left the table. “Not that I doubted you guys, but that went better than I expected.”

“What can I say,” Oswald replied. “I’m just a natural charmer.”

Bruce laughed. “Yea, tonight will be one of ringing endorsements.” It was then that she appeared, hair up in a bun and wearing a glittering white dress.

“Why hello there,” Harvey flirted. “Is there something I could help you with?”

“Not interested,” the woman replied. “I’m Vicki Vale, reporter to the Gazette.”

“This is a private function, Ms. Vale,” Harvey said harshly. “No reporters allowed.”

“It’s the biggest event in Gotham right now,” Vicki said. “I’m surprised more reporters aren’t here. But I’m more interested in you, Mr. Wayne.” Oswald raised a brow at that.

“Oh? Do tell Ms. Vale,” Bruce asked.

“Well, for one I noticed you were late to your own event this evening.” Vicki looked to Oswald. “You both were. I’m just wondering what makes the richest men in Gotham tick.” That was when she noticed something on the lapel of Oswald’s shirt. “I’m sorry is that… blood?” Oswald touched his chin momentarily. “Yea, looks like blood.”

“Ah well, clumsy me. I  must’ve nicked myself shaving,” Oswald answered with a grin.

“I don’t see why you even bother,” Harvey spoke up. “You grow facial hair like a werewolf.”

“Well I for one like the scruff,” Bruce commented as he touched the tip of Oswald chin with his thumb and forefinger. Bruce looked back to Vicki. “You can stay Ms. Vale, on the condition that everything tonight stays off record.”

“Master Bruce,” Alfred spoke up from behind him. “It seems you have another guest.”

“I’m sure they can find the bar,” Bruce said, waving off the butler.

“I think you may want to greet this one.” They all turned to the entrance to see none other than Carmine Falcone and some of his men as they entered.

“Since when do the Wayne’s deal with crime bosses,” Vicki asked when she turned to Bruce.

“Mr. Falcone is only guilty of being a businessman who loves Gotham,” Harvey replied.

“I can assure you that they are very much uninvited,” Oswald said, though he sent a look to Harvey. “For the most part.” The three men left Vicki to her own devices and approached the bar. “You got three seconds to talk.”

“I know what it looks like,” Harvey replied quickly. “But Falcone does control the largest voting population. Getting in good with him could win me the election.”

“But it could also tarnish our name,” Bruce said. He looked over to Falcone and his goons, worried where this would lead them. Bruce sighed. “I’m trusting you on this Harvey.” Without another word Bruce turned around to greet his newest ‘guest’.

“Nice place,” Brue heard Falcone say as they approached him. “Nice and spacious, enough to fit all my cars inside.” He turned to face the three men. “I think I’ll take it.”

“Not like you could afford it,” Oswald replied, which caused Falcone to laugh.

“I like the cut of this kids gibe. Ah but where are my manners?” Falcone extended a hand. “Carmine Falcone, and thanks for letting me into your home.” Everyone else was watching them at this point. Bruce simply looked at the hand that was offered him. Falcone cleared his throat before retracting his own. “I came here in good faith, want to see if Mr. Dent truly has what’s best for Gotham in mind.”

“Perhaps everyone would be more comfortable talking about this in the parlor,” Alfred suggested.

“Wonderful idea,” Oswald commented as he followed Alfred’s lead. Carmine and his men followed them, with Bruce and Harvey taking up the rear.

Harvey was going on about mayoral business, but was immediately stopped by one of the bodyguards.

“Hey what’s going on,” Harvey asked.

“Private audience only,” the bodyguard replied.

“Wha- hey come on guys let me join in.”

“Me and Brucie have a little bit of talking to do,” Falcone said as he poured himself a drink. “Cobblepot is here mostly in good faith.”

“What do you think Bruce,” Oswald asked.

“Harvey stays with us,” Bruce said.

“A man’s home is his castle. I respect that,” Falcone replied. “You are to be seen and not heard.”

“Thank you Mr.-“

“Ah ah! What did I say?” Harvey clamped his mouth shut and walked over to one of the seats near the fireplace, across from Oswald.

“Now then Mr. Wayne, I’m sure you know why I’m here.” Falcone took a swig of his drink. “I gotta make sure Mr. Dent here truly has what’s best in mind For Gotham.” As he spoke, he moved his way over to the pool table and grabbed pool stick.

“Well, unlike most people I know, Harvey actually has integrity,” Bruce responded. Falcone simply smirked.

“I’m sure he does.” Falcone then moved to the head of the pool table. “You see these pool balls? Imagine they’re Gotham. The docks, the businesses, everything,” Falcone held up the cue ball. “Now imagine this is me.” He then set the ball on the table, took aim, and hit the ball which scattered the others. “You see, I make everything in Gotham going; nothing happens or goes through this city without me knowing.”

“Are you done, or are we going to get to the point,” Bruce asked, his patience diminished.

Falcone did not like the attitude. “Listen here you little runt, I know somewhere deep down in that suited brain of yours you know exactly what’s going on here. If you want something from Gotham, you gotta know whose hands to shake.” Falcone turned his eyes to the Wayne family picture. “Just like your father knew how.”

“Don’t you dare talk about my father.” It would be the only warning Falcone would get. The older man simply laughed it off.

“You know, you remind me a lot of him,” Falcone commented. “You look a lot like him, got that same fire in your eyes too.” Before Bruce could say anymore, the door to the parlor opened, and Alfred entered.

“Master Bruce, your guests are leaving for the evening. It would be rude for the hosts not to see them out.” Bruce breathed out through his nose and nodded.

“I think I’ll let you keep the house,” Falcone said before he made his exit. “I’m not really feeling it anymore.” With that, Falcone and his men exited the Manor with the rest of the guests.

While Bruce saw to the guests leaving, Oswald made his way down to the Batcave, intent on finding out what was so damn important about that data pad. “It’s me,” Oswald said to the dark room. Instantly, the room lit up bit by bit. The immense cave they found when they were just boys was now fashioned into a state of the art secret lair. Enough room for a supercomputer, the batmobile and penguin bike, and a small trophy section, though it remained barren for now. Oswald made his way over to the computer, looking at the screen that held the latest news about batman and penguin.

“Seems like news is spreading,” Oswald spoke to himself. It was a good thing though, the criminals needed something to fear. Oswald turned away from the screen and fetched the data pad from one of the desks. “Wonder what’s so important with you.”

He took a seat in the chair after he placed the data pad into the bat computers port. Oswald noticed something immediately when the first image appeared. “Heavily encrypted eh? Wonder what Mayor hill was being so paranoid about.” It looked difficult, but it was also a chance to use his and Lucius’ new decryption program to good use. Once the program was in place, Oswald turned his attention to the database, hoping to look up something on their new in town burglar.

The sound of the elevator meant Bruce and Alfred had finally gotten all the other guests out of the manor. A hand found its way into his hair, which meant it was Bruce. “You manage to find anything?”

“Not much,” Oswald replied. He let out a hum as Bruce started to lightly scratch his head. “The file is heavily encrypted, I got the decoder working now. Also haven’t been able to find anything on this ‘Catwoman’ either.”

“It seems she keeps a low profile,” Alfred spoke up. “Petty thefts, a few break in’s, but other than that she keeps her head low.”

“Clever kitten,” Oswald commented. “So what to do until then?”

“Maybe we can look at the data pad from a different angle,” Bruce suggested. Oswald nodded and with a few clicks of the computer keys, a hologram of Gotham appeared behind them. Immediately Bruce noticed the docks were highlighted.

“Wonder what’s going on there,” Alfred said.

Bruce shook his head. “Lots of things run through there: Money, drugs, and weapons. It could be any number of things.”

“Not to mention the number of warehouses,” Oswald added. Suddenly he yawned, gaining the attention of Bruce and Alfred. “Mm, sorry about that.”

“Perhaps it’s time for some rest,” Alfred suggested. “Bruce has a big conference in the morning, and you have a meeting of your own, Oswald.”

Oswald raised a brow when one of Harvey’s business cards was handed to him. He turned it over and saw a time and place for a meeting, along with a familiar name. “So he was here.”

“Who was,” Bruce asked.

“An old friend from college,” Oswald replied, confusion in his voice. “He dropped out after junior year and I haven’t heard from him since. Though why he’s contacting me now is a mystery.”

“It goes without saying,” Alfred started, “but I recommend you do be careful. If he’s contacting you after all these years, odds are he wants something.”

“Or maybe he’s looking to reconnect,” Bruce said. “Perhaps he wants to reconnect with you after all these years.”

“Only way to find out is to actually go,” Oswald said. He tried to stifle another yawn. “But before that we have another meeting.”

“Oh?” Bruce looked confused for a moment, but understood what Oswald wanted when he took his hand.

“Yea, the meeting is in our bedroom, where we shall sleep for the remainder of the night.” Oswald talked while he pulled Bruce to the elevator.

“And sleeping is all we’ll be doing,” Brue inquired with a sultry voice. Oswald laughed and lightly slapped Bruce’s chest.

“If you think I’ve got any energy for that, you got another thing coming Mr. Wayne.”

* * *

 

Cobblepot Park, 6:00 a.m.

Oswald walked down the sidewalk that came up to Cobblepot Park, his families’ only legacy. The share of the Wayne fortune that was granted to him was used to keep the place clean and family friendly. There were no homeless people loitering about, no random muggings happening, and no graffiti on the walls. It was a place where children could play safely, and people could come and relax.

There was a ding from his pockets, indicating a received text. Taking his phone he read the message from an unknown number.

_‘Hey, it’s Mark. Running late. Meet you by the statue.’_

“Wonderful,” Oswald sighed. He made his way to the center of the park, walking past couples and families, until he managed to reach the statue in question. It was one of his predecessors, when Gotham was first founded. Oswald stared at the statue a moment and wondered what would have happened to the place if Oswald wasn’t taken in by the Wayne’s. Would they have kept the place up, would it even be recognizable?

“There you go again, thinking too much,” a familiar voice rang out. Oswald turned to his left to be greeted by his old friend, Mark Eldridge wearing a lopsided grin. “You were thinking about an alternate universe, weren’t you?” Mark was wearing a dark blue trench coat, with a white button up, slacks, and brown shoes. “Thinking about what this park would have been if you weren’t here?” The last one was more of a statement than a question.

“I see you’re still thinking of alternate universes,” Oswald replied. “It’s been a while old friend, what have you been up to this whole time?” Oswald took in the rest of his appearance: messy ginger hair, unshaven face, and was that a scar on his nose? What has Mark been up to?

Mark waved his hand. “A little of this and that,” he replied. “Those dreams I kept having got kinda…. Out of control. I had to seek some professional help.” That was right, Oswald remembered he would be shocked awake by Mark screaming in his sleep. Hell he woke up thinking he lost an arm. “I see you’ve been doing well though.”

“I suppose,” Oswald replied. “About as well as someone who works for Wayne Enterprises can.”

“But that’s not all, is it?” Marks voice took a serious tone to it. “From what I’ve heard, you and Bruce met with that mobster, Falcone, last night.”

Oswald scoffed. “He was uninvited, at best. Far as I’m concerned, Falcone had no business being there.”

Mark hummed, before he leaned forward and gripped his head. Oswald took a step forward to help, but Mark held up a hand. “Sorry, headache. They come and go, I just….” Mark walked over to one of the benches nearby and took a seat. Oswald stood across from him.

Mark reached into his inner jacket pocket and took out a bottle of pills. Oswald looked worriedly at his friend, but Mark just chuckled. “Don’t worry, they’re legal. Plus they help with the headaches.” Mark took two out of the bottle and dry swallowed them. “Anyway,” Mark continued, “seems like Gotham has treated you and Bruce pretty well. At least ever since… well you know.”

Oswald knew exactly what he had meant. The death of both of their parents still loomed over them both, even after all of these years. “Well, it’s not like it was easy, you know,” Oswald said. “We’ve had to have extensive therapy, not to mention that Bruce had nightmares for years.”

“Speaking of Bruce,” Mark interrupted, “what happened with him and Falcone?”

“Nothing really,” Oswald replied coolly. “Falcone seemed to want Bruce to join him or something to that degree. He declined him, rather harshly at that.”

“Hmm, interesting,” Mark said, a thoughtful look on his face. “So what would happen, say, if Bruce took him up on the offer?” Oswald raised a brow at that. The question seemed to have come out of nowhere.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, say Dear Bruce became a mobster and took up Falcone’s offer?”

“Preposterous,” Oswald replied. “Brue would never do such a thing.”

“What if his parents did?” Oswald went wide eyed and stared at his friend.

“Where exactly is this going?” Oswald’s tone took a dangerous shift. Mark got up from the bench and walked past Oswald.

“You know, if you throw a rock at one of the stores in Gotham, it’s most likely to be owned by Wayne Enterprises.” Now Oswald felt like he had whiplash from the topic switch.

“Yea?”

“Well, I made some friends, and they are not too keen on the Wayne family name.” Mark turned to face Oswald. “I asked you to come here so I could warn you, as a friend that a revolution is coming.” Mark spread his arms out on either side of him. “Odds are, there’s gonna be more than just some windows breaking. There’s gonna be chaos in the streets, and mass mayhem on a city wide level.”

There was suddenly a dangerous look in Marks eyes as he grinned. It scared Oswald, if only a little. “I’m letting you know now, so that when the shit inevitably hits the fan, you can at least get out.”

“Bruce isn’t your enemy mark,” Oswald said. He had never seen Mark like this before, it worried him.

“How do you know the Wayne’s aren’t your enemy, Oz?” The question left Oswald frozen in place. What did he mean by that? Before Oswald could even ask, Mark started to make his way out of the park. “It was good seeing ya Oz. Now I gotta go and collect some rocks.”

Once Mark was good and gone, Oswald let out a sigh. “What happened to you Mark?” A loud caw suddenly ripped Oswald out of his thoughts, and he looked to the bench to see a red feathered crow. “OK, now that is odd.” Oswald was quick to take a picture of it, but it flew away just as he did. Oswald watched the crow fly away, wondering how it got those red feathers, when his phone started vibrating. He looked down and noticed Alfred was calling him.

“Alfie, hey what’s up?”

“Master Oswald, thank god,” Alfred replied. “I couldn’t get a hold of Master Bruce, but the police have just arrived with a warrant.”

* * *

 

Wayne Manor, 8:00 a.m.

It took everything not to drive like a bat out of hell to get back to the manor. Oswald’s skin was practically vibrating when he finally go to the driveway, only to be confronted with cop cars. He parked his bike and immediately went inside only to see papers strewn across the floor and police walking about like they owned the place.

“So what’s all this then,” he shouted, which got the attention of Lieutenant Gordon.

“Sorry, nothing personal against you guys, but we got a warrant to take all files and computer storage relating to Wayne enterprises.” Oswald took the paper that was presented to him and scanned it. As soon he had confirmed everything was legal, he breathed out a sigh.

“Fucking hell.” It was then that Alfred made his appearance known.

“Master Oswald, I got in contact with Master Bruce not long after you hung up. He should be along shortly.” As if on cue, Bruce made his entrance.

“Lieutenant Gordon,” Bruce said. “I take it you have a good reason for being here?”

“I got a warrant to seize all files regarding Wayne enterprises,” Gordon explained. Oswald handed him the warrant. Bruce looked over it himself before he looked to Gordon.

“Who signed off on this?”

“I know you’re friends with the D.A. Dent, but this came from higher up,” Gordon replied.

Oswald crossed his arms. “How high up exactly?”

“The order came from and was signed by Mayor Hill.”

“You are kidding me,” Oswald said.

“Mayor hill has a way of making his competition…disappear,” Bruce said.

“All rumors, Mr. Wayne,” Gordon replied robotically. “But trust me, if info comes along that the mayor is corrupt, I’ll throw him behind bars myself.” At least he still had his head on straight.

“But why else would Mayor Hill sign off on this,” Alfred asked.

“Could be Falcone,” Oswald replied. “Could have something on Hill. You did seem to piss him off.”

“Either way, we still have to do our jobs,” Gordon said. “I meant it when I said it wasn’t personal. I know you guys do all you can for Gotham.” With that, Gordon turned and walked away.

“What is going on,” Bruce wondered aloud.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to go and have a few words with Harvey,” Oswald replied. He grabbed the warrant from Bruce’s hand.

“Let me know what he says,” Bruce said as Oswald walked away.

“Will do, love.” Oswald was at his bike and about to dial Harvey when there was a tap on his shoulder. He quickly turned to see none other than the reporter, Vicki Vale.

“Is everything alright,” Vicki asked with a worried expression.

“Take a look around, Ms. Vale,” Oswald replied. Vicki looked taken aback, and Oswald sighed. “Sorry, just hasn’t been that great of a day all around.”

“I can tell, what with everything that happened at the press conference-“

“Huh?” Oswald was confused. “What happened?”

“Oh, well everyone got some kind of tip that the Wayne family were crime bosses,” Vicki replied. “That’s actually why I’m here. Have you seen Bruce around?”

Oswald pointed to the manor. “He’s inside last I checked.” With a nod and a wave, Vicki left him for the manor. With another heavy sigh, Oswald dialed Harvey’s number. “Hey Harvey? It’s Oswald. Can you meet me?”

* * *

 

Gotham Café 2:00 pm

Harvey couldn’t immediately meet with Harvey, since the D.A. was currently busy most of the day with his campaign managers. But he finally did show up, taking the seat across form Oswald. “So what’s so important that you dragged me out here?” Oswald silently laid the piece of paper in front of him. Harvey raised a brow, but picked it up to scan it either way. “What is this,” Harvey asked, a concerned look on his face.

“You tell me,” Oswald replied harshly.

“I swear, I have no idea about this,” Harvey defended. “Who even signed off on this?”

“Mayor Hill, apparently.” Oswald crossed his arms. “I think he has it out for you. Either that or Falcone.”

Before Harvey could respond, a voice called out. “Hey, Sorry I’m late. Took a while to find the place.” Harvey rose to see a dark-haired woman in a black dress, and she seemed to be sporting a black bruise right under her eye. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to put two plus two together; this was Catwoman.

Oswald stood to introduce himself. He had to keep up appearances after all. “Oh I’m sorry, let me introduce you guys,” Harvey said. “Oswald this is Selina Kyle. Selina this is one of my friends-“

“Oswald Cobblepot,” Oswald introduced himself. “Pleasure to meet you.” Oswald held out his hand, which Selina shook, rather hesitantly. Oswald had to wonder if she knew who he secretly was as well.

“The pleasures all mine,” Selina replied. Once the pleasantries were out of the way, the three of them took their seats once again. “Rough beating your buddy took this morning,” Selina commented. “Nasty stuff.”

“So I’ve heard,” Oswald said. “I was busy with other things, so I didn’t get to see what had actually happened.”

“It was brutal,” Harvey said solemnly. “Someone said something about a source stating that the Wayne’s were in good with the mob, namely Falcone.” Oswald pounded his fist on the table.

“Dammit all.” Oswald didn’t like too much what was happening. It seemed like someone was going after Bruce, trying to tarnish his reputation. “What is going on?”

“It probably won’t be much,” Harvey said as he pulled out his phone, “but I may be able to do something about the warrant.” With that Harvey got up and left Oswald and Selina alone. There was a tense moment where the two stared each other down.

It was Selina who spoke first. “Nice to meet the real you,” she said lowly and with a grin.

“Same,” Oswald replied. There was another terse moment. “Sorry about the black eye.”

“Sorry about the scratch,” Selina said. “So how often is it that you and whoever the other guy is dress up and fight criminals?”

“Kind of a lifestyle choice,” Oswald said. “But there is something that you want from me.”

“Yeah.” Selina leaned forward. “That data pad you stole from me.”

“No can do, kitten,” Oswald said. “What was even on it anyway?” Selina shrugged. “So you stole something that you know nothing about?”

“It’s not really my place to ask,” Selina replied. “Just give it back. If I don’t get that back to my client, they are going to kill me.”

“A bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?” Selina shook her head.

“These guys don’t mess around.” Selina sighed. “Just give it back to me.”

“Like I said, no can do.” Oswald shrugged, then leaned forward himself. “But, maybe you can tell me where you were supposed to deliver it?”

“Oh no way,” Selina replied, sitting back up. “I’m already in enough trouble as it is.”

“Way I see it, you’re screwed either way.” Oswald took a card and pen from his front pocket and presented it to Selina. “Just help me out here. You can make your grand escape into the night later.” Selina sighed in defeat. She knew he was right. She grabbed the pen and card and wrote down the address.

“Here,” She said harshly. “Be careful with these guys, they’ll be expecting a cat, not a bird or a bat.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Oswald replied, sliding the card into his palm right before Harvey walked back to the table.

“I got my people at the office working on this,” Harvey said in an attempt to console Oswald. “Tell Bruce you two don’t have anything to worry about. We’ll get this settled with quickly.”

“I hope so,” Oswald replied. “I imagine Bruce might be graying soon if this keeps going on.” Oswald stood from his seat.

“Going so soon,” Harvey asked.

Selina smirked. “Yea, we did just get here. Why not have a drink?” Oswald simply smiled while hoping his eyes would melt her face off.

“I really would love to,” Oswald looked down at his wristwatch. “Unfortunately I must be going. Lucius will be needing me soon.”

“Well tell the old guy I said ‘hi’,” Harvey replied as he leaned back in his seat.

“Will do,” Oswald said and turned and walked away.

“Oh,” Selina called out, “Don’t forget to wear your suit.”

Oswald scoffed to himself. Once he was safely out of sight, he pulled out his phone and dialed Bruce. “Hey Oz,” Bruce answered. “How’d things go with Harvey?”

“A bit more productively than I thought,” Oswald replied. “Seems like he’s made friends with our dear little Kitten we met last night.”

“The one from Mayor Hills’ office?”

“Yep, luckily I managed to get some information out of her.”

“What kind?”

“An address, says at warehouse 23, near the docks.” Oswald heard shuffling in the background.

“I’ll head there now,” Bruce finally said after a moment.

“Should I meet you there,” Oswald inquired.

“No, this will be strictly observation and stealth. You head back and manage the drones and equipment.”

Oswald shivered. “Oh I love it when you get all bossy like this.”

Bruce laughed. “Yeah well, hopefully we’ll finally find some answers tonight.”

* * *

 

Gotham Docks, Warehouse 23, nighttime

“Christ what happened here?” Penguins voice came through clearly, the drone hovered above Batman as he entered the warehouse.

“Whatever happened, we were late for it,” Batman replied.

“How many are there,” Alfred asked.

“I think you’d have to count the pieces,” Penguin replied.

“Good god,” Alfred said, breathless. “For once I’m glad you arrived after the heist.” Batman examined the room, seeing the dead bodies, the scorch mark on the floor, and what looked like someone’s intestines.

“Whatever it was, the explosion left practically nothing behind,” Batman said.

The drone came down and scanned the scorch marks. “Seems like a barrel was shot here.” Batman looked at the damage door on the left of the building.

He quickly opened it up, and found a piece of the barrel in question, a large hole in its middle. Batman scanned it then said, “The barrel was pretty thick, so whatever punctured it must have been some type of special bullet.”

“Even more, the contents of the barrel were inert, apparently,” Penguin added. “The bullet must have also set it off somehow. It packed one hell of a wallop.”

Batman walked over to one of the dead mercenaries, his face badly scratched. “Looks like this one got mauled by a bear or something,” Penguin said.

“What could have done this,” Alfred asked.

“More like who,” Penguin replied. “Check that guard, by the crates.” Batman walked over to the guard in question. His face was badly burned, and a hole was in his skull.

“He’s been badly burnt,” Batman said. “But the origin seems come from inside.”

“I scanned the man, seems like whatever was in that barrel is still in his system,” Penguin said. “That’s most likely what made him maul that other guy.” Batman produced along instrument, then proceeded to insert it into the dead guards skull. Once the device had ahold of the bullet, Batman pressed the top button and pulled it out.

Batman quickly scanned the bullet. “Looks like a special bullet type, there’s traces of phosphorus left.”

“I’ve got the data,” Penguin said. “There’s about three spaces a sniper could have shot from. I’ll scan those places real quick and let you know if I find anything.” The drone then set off to one of the spaces, leaving batman to look at the rest of the area.

Batman noticed the skid marks on the ground. “Looks like there was a truck here.” Scanning it revealed a large truck. “Looks like after the shootout, whoever was here made off with something. Most likely the remaining barrels.” Batman walked over to another guard, laying on top of a bunch of boxes, a white rose laying on his stomach. “A white rose, Falcone’s calling card.”

“Good lord, did he do all this,” Alfred asked.

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Batman replied. “But what would he even want with this agent?”

“Found the snipers nest,” Penguin said before Batman could think on it further. He scanned for the drone, and found it hovering at the left scaffolding. He grappled over to it and turned his scanners on. There was a lot of residue form this area.

“So where is the sniper,” Batman asked.

“There is a bit of a trail leading away,” Penguin said. “But it ends somewhere over here.” Batman walked over to where the drone had stopped, and looked down the scaffolding. He looked around a bit before he spotted a pair of legs. The pants and boot were very similar to what the other mercenaries were wearing.

“Found the sniper,” Batman said, then turned on his voice disguiser. “Time to get to work.” He jumped down and roughly moved the crate that was hiding him. The man was surprised, trying his best to get up, but Batman was quick to grab him by his uniform and roughly pushed him against the wall.

“Tell me what you know,” Batman growled.

“I ain’t telling you nothing,” the man replied. Batman shoved him to the ground, then zip tied his legs together and his wrists behind his back. He then used one of the chains to hang him up by the legs.

“They were right about you,” the mercenary said with a frightened tone. “You’re a frigging animal.”

Batman silently grabbed a pipe from one off the top of a barrel, then looked menacingly at the man. “Give me a reason to stop,” he said, wielding the pipe in an imposing manner. Though the merc looked scared, he still would not speak. Batman rose the bat up, ready to strike. However, when he swung he aimed for the barrel, next to the man’s head.

“Alright, alright, I’ll talk,” the man said. Batman kneeled down, coming face to face with the man. “There was supposed to be a delivery or something. Something to help find the barrels easier. But the bitch didn’t show. We had to look for the barrels by hand, but we must have been too loud. The cops came and there was a fight.”

“What does Falcone want with the chemicals,” Batman asked.

“Screw you,” the man replied. Batman glared at the merc before standing. He discarded the pipe and then freed the man’s arms. Batman then took his right arm and stretched it out before applying pressure to it. “Gah, what are you doing?”

“Talk,” was all Batman said before he applied more pressure. It wasn’t enough to break it, but just enough to feel like it would.

“I-I don’t know what he plans to do with it,” the merc answered, afraid of having his arm broken. “That’s the truth. We were supposed to pick it up, but I don’t know what happens after that.” Batman seemed satisfied enough by the answer, and tied his hands back up. It was then that more cops came into the building, with Lieutenant Gordon leading them.

“Wow, the cops got there faster than I thought,” Penguin said. “Taking the drone out now, I’ll leave Gordon to you.”

“Wonderful.”

* * *

 

Batcave

Oswald managed to get the drone out of the building without being seen, surprisingly enough. “Do you think he’ll be alright,” Alfred asked from behind him. Oswald turned the chair around to face Alfred.

“No worries Alfie,” Oswald replied. “Gordon seems to like us enough to not want to shoot us.” Oswald turned back to the Bat computer to check on the decoder. “Looks like we’ll be seeing what’s on the data pad soon enough.”

“I wonder what’s so important on that thing,” Alfred wondered. “It seems like a lot of people want it.”

Oswald hummed. “If I had to guess, it probably has something to do with either Falcone or Hill.”

“What makes you say that,” Alfred asked.

‘Think about it, if Falcone was in good with Hill, it would behoove the good Mayor to keep some kind of insurance. Especially if Falcone were to go against Hill.” It was then that the Batmobile came roaring into the cave, coming to a stop in its usual spot. “Well hello stranger,” Oswald greeted Bruce as he got out of the car. “How was the conversation with Gordon?”

“Well he didn’t shoot at me, so that’s a plus,” Bruce replied, taking off the cowl of his suit. “I shared the info that the mercenary gave me. Anything new on your end?”

Oswald motioned to the computer. “We’ll see what Hill was hiding in a moment.” The computer dinged, and the three men looked at what was being displayed on screen. Document after document appeared on screen, and after a quick scan through everything, Oswald let out a loud laugh.

“Holy shit, I knew it,” Oswald exclaimed. “Documents of every crime Carmine Falcone has ever committed.”

“What was Hill planning on doing with this,” Bruce asked.

“More than likely insurance,” Oswald answered. “But who knows for sure. Is this why Catwoman’s client wanted this?”

“More importantly,” Alfred piped up, “what are we to do with this information?”

“We have to give it to someone,” Oswald replied. His eyes went wide. “We should give it to Gordon, he’s on the up and up.”

“It is enough information to get a warrant for Falcone’s arrest,” Bruce pondered.

“There’s also Miss Vale,” Alfred said. “She seems intent to get the truth out there. If she were to publish this, Falcone’s stellar reputation would be down the drain.”

It looked like Bruce would be the tie breaker in this scenario. He had to admit, there were both good choices. Vicki would be able to publish the story, and Falcone’s reputation would be gone. However, Gordon could act immediately, and be more silent about it. Vicki would be in more danger than Gordon would be. The choice seemed to be obvious at this point.

“I’ll take it to Gordon tomorrow,” Bruce replied. “He’ll know what to do with the evidence more than Vicki would.”

“Agreed,” Oswald said. He got up from the chair and stretched his limbs. “Looks like the path is clear. Tomorrow, Gordon will attack Falcone from the ground-“

“While we attack him from the sky,” Bruce finished.

Gotham City Police Department, Afternoon

It had taken him a bit to find Gordon, but Bruce managed to spot him enjoying a cigarette outside. Gordon noticed Bruce approach him, and stood up straight. “Well this is a surprise,” Gordon said. “What brings Gotham’s Son down to this precinct?”

Bruce held out a manila envelope. “I figured you could find some use for this.” Gordon raised a brow, but accepted the envelope nonetheless.

Gordon opened it up, and pulled out its contents, eyebrows raised as he scanned over the files. “This is…” Gordon gave Bruce a suspicious look. “Do I even want to know how you got ahold of these?”

Bruce shook his head. “Not really.”

Gordon sighed as he put the envelope under his arm. He thought for a moment before he addressed Bruce again. “Listen, if this is some kind of bribe, you should know I’m not one to be bought.”

“I know,” Bruce replied. “No strings attached. It’s why I brought it to you in the first place.” Gordon nodded his head and put out his cigarette.

“All right then,” Gordon said. “With this, we’ll finally be able to put Carmine Falcone behind bars. For good this time.” With a final nod to Bruce, he turned and headed back inside the building. Bruce turned to make his own way back to his car. He pulled out his phone and dialed Oswald.

“Hello love,” Oswald answered. “How’d it go?”

“Better than expected,” Bruce relayed. “Gordon will probably be setting up a warrant soon.”

“Well I’ve got everything ready,” Oswald said. “Shall I meet you at the Skyline Club?”

Bruce turned a corner to find his car. With a click of a button, the red car immediately turned into the Batmobile. “I’ll get changed in the car.”

“Wonderful, it’s a date then.”

* * *

 

The Skyline Club, Nighttime

Penguin was sitting on the roof, legs dangling from the ledge. He was testing the drones cloaking and cameras when Batman finally glided to him.

Penguin looked behind him with a smirk. “You’re late.”

“And you’re mask less,” Batman said. Penguin simply got up from his spot and walked over to Batman. Penguin wrapped his arms around Batman’s neck and leaned in for a kiss. Batman reciprocated, wrapping his arms around Penguins waist.

When they separated Batman asked, “What’s the occasion?”

“A kiss for good luck,” Penguin replied and placed his own mask over his head.

“If you two are done,” Alfred said. “Oswald got the drone ready.”

“Time for some reconnaissance then,” Batman replied. He tapped his cowl to look through the camera of the drone as it floated down to look at the highest floor. “Four guards, heavily armed, stealth is not an option,” Batman said as he scanned the room. “There is a heavily guarded room at the far left.”

“That’s most likely where Falcone is,” Penguin said. “Getting there shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

“Now it’s time for a plan of attack,” Alfred said.

Penguin was the first to speak. “I’m faster, I’ll be able to get to the two guards on the far left, if Batman will get the first two near the entrance.”

“Then after I deal with the first two, I’ll make my way to the far room,” Batman said.

“Sounds like you two are ready,” Alfred said. With a quick nod to each other, they started making their way down.

Batman took out the first guard, knocking him out by surprise before throwing him through the glass doors. The screaming started soon enough, and Batman busted through as he surprised the second guard. He grabbed the guard head and bashed nit against the nearby pillar. It knocked the guard out instantly.

Penguin was quick to make his way to the next guard. The guard almost got his gun out, but Penguin was quick to knock the gun away and head-butt him. The fourth guard started firing his gun, forcing Penguin behind the pillar. He took out a knife from his inner suit pocket and threw it at the lamp above the guard.

The guard was quick to dodge the falling, but Penguin used the opportunity to get closer and knock the guard into the glass window.

Batman made his way past screaming guests up the stairs to Falcons room. The door burst open though, revealing two of Falcone’s men. They opened fire on him, but Batman quickly got close in, knocking one guard off the ledge and over the bar. The second guard was just as easy to take out, as he was also thrown over the ledge and onto the bar.

Two more guards came up the stairs, ready to fight, but Falcone burst through the door with an assault rifle in hand. “Screw you Bat-freak,” Falcone screamed as he opened fire. Batman dodged the shots, but Falcone’s men didn’t get so lucky, and were filled with bullets. Batman was below where Falcone was, and in a fit of rage, Falcone opened fire on the floor below him as he hoped to hit something.

Penguin took his own grappling hook from his belt and aimed upwards. Once the hook was through the floor, Penguin pulled down as hard as he could. Since the floor was riddled with holes, the floor easily caved. Falcone fell on his ass trying to get away. Batman jumped through the hole and stood over Falcone.

Falcone was quick to crawl through the door and lock it behind him. There were a few seconds of silence before Batman realized what Falcone was about to do. He quickly leaped away from the door as a giant hole was blasted through it. Batman was crouched by the door, when he looked up and noticed the camera. Seems as though Falcone was thorough in his security.

Penguin reached for his belt again, taking a circular device and readied to throw it. “Catch,” he yelled and chucked it in Batman’s direction. Batman easily caught the device and activated it. He waited until Falcone finally stopped firing and threw it through the hole in the door. Once it was through the door, the device let out a pulse that shorted the cameras in Falcone’s room. This however did not deter him, as he randomly fired through the door.

Batman, however, had grappled the roof and swung through the window of Falcone’s room. He quickly threw Falcone against the wall of monitors, hurting him in the process.

“Stay down Falcone,” Batman said as the mob boss struggled to stand.

“You still haven’t learned anything,” Falcone replied with a grin. He pressed a golden button on the lapel of his jacket, and a Gatling gun popped out from the roof. Batman quickly dodged the incoming bullets and dived behind the couch for cover.

“I’m pinned down,” Batman said into his earpiece

“No worries,” Penguin replied.

“Artillery fire ready,” Alfred said as he guided the drone to the wall of Falcone’s room. Penguin was the one who told Alfred to fire once the drone was in place. The explosion sent Falcone to the floor. When he looked up, he tried crawling to his gun, which he had dropped during the explosion. Before he could reach it though, Batman threw a batarang at the gun in warning.

Batman picked Falcone up and took him to the ledge of what was once his wall. “Tell me where the chemicals are.”

“What?” Falcone looked confusedly at Batman.

“The docks, the warehouse with the barrels. Your calling card was found at the scene.”

Falcone grunted. “Why the hell would I want to lead you straight to me?” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Something about this don’t feel right. Someone’s settin me up, setting us BOTH up.” Just then the news copter rose form below, shining a light on both men.

“Talk,’ Batman shouted.

“No way,” Falcone replied, looking behind him. “I’m not talking anymore, all of Gotham is watching now Batman.” It was then Batman relied he might not be getting any more out of Falcone. So he zip tied his hands and hung hi from one of the protruding steel beams. This seemed to scare Falcone enough.

“Talk! Who does the warehouse belong too,” Batman inquired once more.

“You wanna know,” Falcone asked in a mocking tone. “They belong to the Wayne’s.” Falcone nodded to the floor nearby, where a picture of Martha, Thomas, and Alfred were sat with Falcone and Mayor Hill. “They’re the biggest gangsters in Gotham.”

“They’re WHAT,” Penguin screamed. Just then, the cops burst in. “Shit, Batman get out while you can. The cops are here.” Penguin dashed for the door they first came in, though not without being spotted.

“Freeze,” Officer Rodriguez shouted. They opened fire, but missed every shot. Penguin was able to make it to the door, and with the help of his grappling gun, attached it to the roof of the nearest building and swung away unscathed. Though the cops missed Penguin, but Batman was still upstairs. They quickly made their way to the scene, guns pointed and ready.

“Thanks for catching Falcone for us,” Officer Rodriguez said. “Now we only have to catch one of you.” Once again they opened fire, but batman quickly jumped out of the hole in the wall, safely gliding his way down.

* * *

 

Batcave, after the Skyline Club

Both vehicles screeched to a halt in the Batcave. Bruce angrily ripped off his cowl as he stalked towards Alfred. “Everything we’ve done, all this equipment, the computers, the suits; what has it all been for Alfred?”

“Bruce, please, let me explain,” Alfred pleaded.

“Just tell us it’s not true,” Oswald said, mask already off. “Just say that it’s a lie.” He was near to tears.

Alfred’s head sunk, unable to look at either man. “ALFRED!”


	3. Children of Arkham

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald and Bruce find a connecton between Krow and Mayor Hill, and some horrid truths come to life. A terrorist groups reveals themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter took for freaking ever to type out. Sorry for keeping y'all waiting. Anyway On with the Show!

Cobblepot Park, Nighttime, Rainy:

Oz stood in front of the statue of his ancestor, one of the people who founded Gotham City. He held his umbrella, but it remained at his side as he let the rain fall on him. He had to wonder exactly why they had taken him in. After he had learned Thomas’ dark secret, after learning what they did, Oswald wondered if they were responsible for his mother. He could hear footsteps approaching him from behind.

“I figured I’d find you here.” Oswald turned to face Lucius, his former boss turned partner, with an umbrella over his head and a sad look on his face.

“Yea, well, I guess you’ve heard the news then?” Oswald turned back to the statue. “The Wayne’s, former mob bosses.” He laughed sadly. “Who would’ve thought?”

“I’m sure Alfred had his reasons for not telling you,” Lucius said, as he stood beside Oswald.

“Alfred is the least of my concerns,” Oswald replied. He remembered what Mark had told him before he ran off. He had to figure out what his old friend knew.

“Listen,” Lucius started, “I can’t imagine how you must feel about all this, but I want you to know that I’m here for you if you ever need it.”

Oswald nodded. His mind was racing a mile a minute, thinking back to that day, the day Thomas and Martha were murdered. Thinking back on it though, something did seem odd. “I wonder.”

“What’s up,” Lucius asked.

“Well, I’ve been thinking back a lot, to that day. Something doesn’t make sense about it.” Oswald had a contemplative look on his face.

“What is it,” Lucius asked.

Oswald closed his eyes as he thought back to that day. It was just the four of them that day; Him, Bruce, and the Wayne’s. They had just finished watching a movie that was a favorite of theirs. It featured a masked vigilante dealing out justice. That day they took the usual route through Crime Alley, a mistake the boys would learn the hard way.

Then HE came out of nowhere, holding a gun to them. Thomas stood in front of everyone else, Oswald and Bruce huddled close together. The both of them were shaking, scared out of their minds. Thomas tried to deter the burglar, holding out his hand towards him. Then there were two loud bangs, and Thomas was on the ground, two wounds in his chest.

“Tell Falcone he’s making a terrible mistake,” Thomas said, right before he was shot in the eye. The rest played out like it usually did: Martha was shot next, but died more slowly than Thomas. Oswald stood in front of Bruce in an attempt to shield him. Then a gun was pointed at his head. However, the burglar lowered the weapon, then stole what he could, taking Thomas’ wallet, and the pearls from Martha’s neck.

When Oswald opened his eyes again, he looked to Lucius. “I remembered something Thomas had said. “ He put a hand on his chin. “I think it may have been an assassination.”

“But you and Bruce haven’t budged from it being a mugging since you were children,” Lucius said.

“Yea, but that was before I found out what Thomas really was,” Oswald replied angrily. “Things have a different meaning when you look back. I was just a child, and everything happened so fast. I didn’t know what to make of any of it.”

“Understandable,” Lucius said. “But what does this all mean now? What actions could you possibly take?”

“I could talk to Falcone,” Oswald said thoughtfully. “That is, if Bruce isn’t already there giving him the third degree.” No doubt Bruce had already come to the same conclusion as Oswald. The only other place he could be is at the police department.

“So what are you going to do,” Lucius asked. “There’s no way you could talk to Joe Chill, he died in Black Gate.”

“I don’t know,” Oswald replied. Just then his phone vibrated in his pocket. Taking it out, he noticed Bruce’s name on it.

“So how many times has he called you,” Lucius asked.

“This’ll be about the fourth time,” Oswald replied. He continued to stare at the phone, unsure if he should answer it or not. Lucius’ hand appeared on his shoulder.

“You should answer it,” Lucius said. “You two do have a lot to talk about.” Lucius took his leave after that. Oswald knew he was right, the way he dodged Bruce so far wasn’t fair.

With a sigh, Oswald pressed the answer button. “Hey Brucie,” Oswald said.

“Oz, thank god,” Bruce said worriedly. “

“What’s up love,” Oswald inquired, an eyebrow raised. “You don’t sound too good.”

“It’s Falcone,” Bruce replied. “I went to see him at the GCPD, to talk with him about my parents.” Oswald’s brows furrowed.

“Bruce, what happened?”

“One of the officers came in, Martinez I think, and shot him.” There was a brief pause from Bruce’s end. “Falcons dead, Oz.”

Oswald didn’t miss a beat. “I’ll meet you there.” Before he knew it, he was already on his bike and started to make his way towards the GCPD.

* * *

 

Gotham City Police Department, Nighttime, Rainy:

Within the hour, Oswald stood in front of the GCPD and stormed inside. He gained a few odd looks, mostly because he was still wet from the rain. The ding of the elevator garnered his attention, and watched as Bruce stepped out of it. He was almost instantly there by Bruce’s side.

“What happened love,” Oswald asked immediately.

“It happened so fast,” Bruce said, eyes wide. “One moment I was asking Falcone about my parents, the next he was shot, twice. When I looked to see who shot him, Montoya was standing there with a gun and a crazed look in her eyes.” Oswald couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“So why’d she do it,” Oswald asked. Bruce looked around them before motion for Oswald to follow him.

“She was drugged,” Bruce began, and lowered his voice. “There was a needle wound on her neck, and her veins were so blue, you could see them through her skin.”

“Jesus,” Oswald gasped. “Any chance it was the mystery drug in those containers?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Bruce replied. Once they were outside and a good distance away from the police department, Bruce took hold of Oswald’s arm and tugged him to a nearby alleyway.

“What the hell,” Oswald started, but was quickly silenced with a finger on his mouth.

“We need to talk,” Bruce said. Oswald’s gaze softened, and knew what the topic was going to be. “Just how long are you going to avoid me Oz?”

Oswald looked to the side ton avoid Bruce’s gaze. He wanted to say he wasn’t avoiding Bruce, but they both knew that would be a lie. “I’m sorry, Brucie,” was all he could say.

Bruce’s gaze softened, and he brought a hand up to Oswald’s cheek. “I’m worried about you. I haven’t had the best time dealing with this whole situation, but I can’t help but think how this is affecting you.” Oswald huffed out a laugh.

“Of course you’d be worried about me in a time like this,” Oswald replied, tears mixing with the rain.  “That’s just like you, caring more about others needs than your own.”

Bruce smiled. “Without you there, I probably wouldn’t sleep most days.” His smile faltered a bit. “I’m sorry about all of this.” Oswald frowned at Bruce before wrapping both of his arms around him tightly.

“None of this is your fault,” Oswald said, in a furious tone. “None of it. You shouldn’t have to pay for what your parent may or may not have done.” Bruce smiled, and wrapped his arms around Oswald.

“Will you come back home with me,” Bruce asked.

“Of course,” Oswald replied, and looked down at himself. “Besides, it’s best if I change clothes soon. Don’t want to catch pneumonia or something.” Bruce smiled and nodded in agreement.

Wayne Manor, close to morning:

Bruce’s car drove into the Batcave, Oswald’s bike attached to the top. Bruce and Oswald quickly got out of the car and walked towards the Batcomputer. Oswald was quick to take his usual seat.

“So what are we looking at,” Oswald asked as he brought up two chemical compounds onto the screen.

“Bruce had me scan the similarities between the chemicals found in the warehouse, and the one that was injected into Officer Montoya.”

“Seems like the ones from the warehouse are a base component,” Bruce said as he scanned over the first image. “It would explained why things got…. Messy.” Oswald brought up the second compound.

“Looks like this one was more finely crafted,” Oswald explained. “More tuned to make people act on their baser instincts. Poor woman.” Oswald sighed. “Was there anything else Montoya told you?”

“She said something about… a guiding hand,” Bruce said with a contemplative look. “Said something about making Falcone pay, she also mentioned a revolution.” Oswald turned to look at Bruce with wide eyes.

What did you say,” Oswald asked. “Are you sure that’s what she said?”

“Yea,” Bruce replied, confused. Oswald turned back to the computer, activating the drones. “Oz, what’s going on?”

“Mark said something about a revolution when I met with him,” Oswald replied. “Seems like too much of a coincidence to me.” A hologram of Gotham appeared behind them, and Oswald got up from his seat. “I’m going to triangulate his position real quick, and then we’re going to have a little chat with him.”

It wasn’t hard for the drones to locate Mark, it seemed like he was dialing every number in Gotham. But once they finally did find him, he was at the Skyline Club.

“Jesus Mark,” Oswald said with a sigh. “Didn’t even give Falcone’s body time to cool down did you?” Oswald turned to walk towards his Penguin outfit, ready to put it on.

“Guess it’s finally time to see what this old friend of yours is up to these days,” Alfred Commented.

“Yea, well, Oswald already tried talking to him.” Oswald took his mask and put it on. “Time for the Penguin and Batman to make an appearance.”

* * *

 

Skyline Club, Morning:

Mark smirked at one of Falcone’s own men at his knees before him. He was mostly here to find out if Falcone was hiding anything they wouldn’t know about. Of course, being held at gun point probably didn’t help the dude’s memory much.

“Let’s try this again,” Mark said as he bent down to look the guy in the eyes. “Was Falcone hiding anything else?”

“I already showed you everything I know of,” the guy replied. There was a finger suddenly under his chin. The guy went wide eyed as a red colored gun was shoved in his face.

“If you’re worried about Falcone, don’t bother,” Mark said menacingly. “By now he’s probably dead.” The guy looked scared out of his mind. “But I suppose you’re of no use to me if you know nothing.” Mark cocked his gun, but he heard footsteps behind him.

He turned, and a smile lit up his face. “My, my, if it isn’t Batman and Penguin,” Mark said as the duo stood before him. “Gotta say, it took you two a while to get here. But I suppose the wait was worth it.”

“Let him go,” Batman said, and pointed behind Mark to Falcone’s grunt.

“Oh come now,” Mark said and shook his head. “He’s nothing more than a common thug at this point.” Mark brought the tip of his gun to his lips in contemplation. “But I guess…” He placed his gun into his jacket. “I’ll let this one go, in good faith of course.” Mark waved his hand in a dismissive manner and the guy ran for his life.

“What are you doing here,” Penguin asked once the man had safely made his way out.

“Why to meet you two of course,” Mark replied happily. “I’m a huge fan, love the whole vigilante shtick you two got goin’ on.” Mark walked over to the hole in the wall. “But you’d think the two biggest heroes of Gotham would have come to thank me for taking out one of the biggest crime bosses in the city.”

“We don’t kill our enemies,” Batman said, watching Mark intently.

Mark placed his hands behind his head. “That’s a shame, considering you two have so many.” He walked over to the broken monitors, hands hovering over the screens. “But I brought you two here for a reason.”

“Get on with it then,” Penguin said. “Best to hear you out before hauling you off to jail.”

Mark laughed. “You make it sound so simple.” Mark looked back to the two, still standing stoic, and sighed. “I want to recruit you two for the Children or Arkham.”

“Who,” Batman inquired.

“They’re a bit of a revolutionary group,” Mark replied. “They have big plans for Gotham’s future. Taking down Falcone was step one. Hill and Wayne are next.” Mark looked to the side in thought. “Shame for Bruce though. He’ll have to pay for the crimes committed by his father. I doubt he even has the slightest clue what Thomas even did.” Mark shrugged. “But whatever, the boss wants what the boss wants.”

“What is it about this place that draws in people like you,” Penguin inquired. “Those are quite big ambitions you have there. I’d be careful if I were you, lest you end up like Carmine Falcone.”

There was a sudden dangerous look in Marks eyes as he grinned. “Trust me, I know what the stakes are. The question is, do you?” Mark walked back over to the giant hole in the wall and turned with his back against it. “I’ll take that as a no to my invite. The boss will be sad, but they’ll get over it eventually.”

There was a ringing in Marks pocket, and he fished for his phone. “Hello, Krow speaking.” There was a brief pause before he grinned happily. “Oh wonderful. Of course, send the boss a message: the Bat and Bird are enemies.” With that he hung up. “Well I must be off now. I have a meeting with a feisty little kitty.” Mark smiled before waving goodbye and falling out of the hole.

“Wait,” Penguin shouted as the two rushed to the edge of the wall. However, he was nowhere to be seen. “That’s weird, right?”

“Definitely,” Batman replied. “By ‘feisty kitty’, do you think he meant Catwoman?” Penguin wasted no time in pressing his communicator.

“Alfred, find Selina’s number for me. Something tells me she’s in danger.”

* * *

 

Wayne Manor, Midday:

Oswald sighed as they pulled up to Wayne Manor and ran a hand through his hair. “I need a shower and a nap.” Bruce chuckled.

“I think we both need that after the past few days we’ve had,” Bruce said. They got out of the car and headed inside. Oswald made a beeline for their bedroom, waving at Alfred as he went.

“Long day,” Alfred asked as Bruce approached him.

“Something like that,” Bruce replied, shaking his shoulders.

“Any word from Miss Selina?”

“Not yet, but we should be hearing from her soon enough.” Bruce started to make his way upstairs. “We’ll probably be awhile, so save dinner for later today.”

“Of course Master Bruce,” Alfred replied and carried on with his usual duties.

Once Bruce got to the master bedroom, he saw the clothes sprawled everywhere and heard the shower running. Bruce cracked a smile before shedding his own clothes as he made his way to the bathroom. The bathroom itself was somewhat spacious, with a rather big shower as well as two sinks and a toilet. Bruce made his way to the shower, and slid open the glass door to step in. No sooner had he closed the door did he wrap his arms around Oswald’s midsection and put his chest flush against Oswald’s back.

Oswald sighed as he laid his head back on Bruce’s shoulder. “Took you long enough to get here,” he said as he turned in Bruce’s grasp to wrap his arms around Bruce’s neck.

“Sorry,” Bruce replied and buried his face into Oswald’s neck. “How are you holding up?”

“I feel like we had this conversation before,” Oswald tried to joke.

“I mean it.” Bruce withdrew himself to look into Oswald’s eyes. “For real, how are you doing?”

Oswald sighed as he pressed his head to Bruce’s. “Honestly, I feel tired.” Bruce nodded. “All the things being said about your parents, about you, I don’t know what to make of any of it and its giving me a headache.”

“I can understand that.” Bruce’s hands rubbed Oswald’s back in a comforting manner. “It hasn’t been easy for us.”

“Speaking of,” Oswald said, and pulled his head back to look at Bruce. “How are you doing?” Bruce’s eyes looked down in thought for a moment before he looked back.

“I’ve… seen better days.” Bruce sighed. “Honestly the whole thing is a PR disaster and I don’t really know how to fix it at all.” He closed his eyes, thinking back to what the news was saying about his family, how his money was dirty, how he was most likely a mobster. “It’s all so ridiculous.”

Oswald didn’t say anything, simply placed a hand on Bruce’s face and kissed him, long and deep. When they separated, Oswald sighed. “Feels like we haven’t kissed in forever.”

Bruce chuckled dryly. “I know.” They shared another kiss, basking in the warmth of both the shower and each other. “How about we dry off and get to snuggling in bed,” Bruce suggested.

“That sounds like a plan,” Oswald agreed. Oswald turned to shut off the shower and both men exited the shower, dried off, and headed for bed. Oswald notice on his nightstand that a message was left for him. He opened his phone and noticed Selina had set up a time and place for them to meet.

“What’s up,” Bruce asked, already under the bed covers.

“Seems like Miss Kyle set up a time and place for our little ‘meeting’.” Oswald laughed. “No masks, she says.”

Oswald locked his phone before lifting the covers to crawl into bed next to Bruce. “The meeting is later tonight, so we have plenty of time before then to rest up.” Oswald wrapped an arm around Bruce and tangled their legs together.  “Goodnight, Love.”

“Night Oz.” Both men were quick to fall asleep, letting their dreams take them.

* * *

 

Stacked Deck, Nighttime:

Bruce and Oswald had made their way to the bar where they were to meet with Selina. Bruce had on a gray hoodie with the hood up with regular pants and sunglasses, and Oswald had on a black t-shirt with a skull on it, regular jeans, and a beanie and sunglasses on his head. They were sat in one of the booths, drinks in front of them as they waited for Selina to show up.

“You look so conspicuous right now,” Bruce commented on Oswald’s outfit. “Those glasses make you stand out.”

“At least I don’t look like a drug dealer,” Oswald shot back with a grin. “Seriously, looking back and forth is not helping you in the least.”

Before Bruce could make a comment back, a voice piped up. “You boys wait long for me?” Both men looked up to see Selina walk to them from the entrance. “SO what was so important you needed to see me in person?” Oswald scooted over in his seat so Selina could sit down. She looked over to Bruce with a questioning eyebrow. “I’m guessing he’s the bat?”

Oswald nodded. “Bet you’ll never guess who it is though.”

Selina Hummed. “Is it Gothams wonderboy, Bruce Wayne?” Both men were stinned into silence. Selina simply shrugged. “What? It’s not hard to figure out who supplies you guys with the goodies. Plus I hear you two are an item anyway. IT really isn’t that hard to put two and two together.”

Oswald shook his head before deciding to get things back on track. “Word on the street is you may know an old friend of mine,” Oswald started. “Probably goes by the name of Krow?”

Selina sighed. “I was hoping to get out of town soon. But if he’s looking for me, then that spells bad news.”

“So you do know him,” Bruce asked.

“Who in the underworld doesn’t,” Selina replied. Oswald’s brows raised.

“What do you mean,” Oswald asked.

Selina looked around the bar to make sure no one was near them to overhear. “Krow is notorious, especially in the underworld. Word is he can do some crazy, unexplainable shit. Not only that, he sells his talents to whoever. The only price, from what I heard, is that they make a lot of chaos.”

Bruce looked thoughtful for a moment. “Does that mean he’s working with someone right now?”

Selina nodded. “I heard he went underground for a few months, then suddenly he resurfaced out of nowhere. He’s the one who actually employed my help, said he could pay me big bucks. Of course, he also mentioned the consequences were not nice if I failed to deliver.”

“That’s actually why we wanted to talk to you,” Bruce said, getting the conversation back on track. “We think you’re in danger.”

“I already figured that much when you mentioned Krow,” Selina said with a grimace. It was then that a group of men entered the door. “Crap” They all looked like bad news, and one of them was on a phone.

“Well they look friendly,” Oswald commented.

“They’re Krow’s goons,” Selina said. “Look, I’m real happy you guys took the time out of your crime fighting to help me, but I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

“I’ve no doubt about that, kitten,” Oswald said. “But with that said, we should probably make our way out the back.”

However, the men were already making their way towards their booth. Selina was quick to stand, followed by Oswald behind her. Bruce also stood, but they were already surrounded. The one on his phone was the first to speak.

“The boss says ‘Hello’.” One of the men tried to grab her, but Bruce was quick to block him.

“This has nothing to do with you or the other guy,” the man said as he pointed at Oswald. “Just walk away.” Bruce quickly looked to Oswald, who shrugged before he punched the nearest guy. Bruce was quick to act, and punched the guy he had blocked earlier.

A brawl soon ensued, Oswald fending off two guys, Bruce fighting off another guy, and Selina who had tackled one of the men to the floor and punched him in quick succession. Oswald ducked as one of the men threw a punch at him, then quickly blocked the other punch directed at him. He then took the guys arm, twisted it, and kicked the guy in the shin. Once he was on one knee, Oswald was quick to punch him and send him to the floor. He dodged the other guy once more, and punched him in the gut hard enough that the guy actually puked. Oswald grimaced at the sight.

Bruce stood over the guy he had just punched, dazed and on the floor, when another guy came out of nowhere and tried to punch him. Bruce easily deflected the punch, and landed his own punch on the guy’s nose. While that guy reeled, Bruce made a follow-up attack and punched the guy in the stomach. Once the guy was kneeled over, Bruce grabbed the back of his head and brought his knee to collide with the guy’s forehead.

Selina had finished punching her goon, who was near to unconscious by this point, and was about to get up when she noticed one of the guys Oswald had knocked to the ground was back up and coming at her with a pocket knife. When he came down for a downward slice, she rolled to the side, grabbed his arm, and latched her legs around his neck. She quickly brought the guy down and punched him once to knock him out.

After the chaos had simmered down, Police sirens could be heard in the distance. “Well shit,” Selina breathed. It was enough to get the three of them moving and out the back door of the bar. They had rounded the corner just as the police lights lit up the back alleyway. They breathed a collective sigh once they were clear.

“I had that covered you know,” Selina said once she finally caught her breath.

“Sure you did,” Oswald replied. “But still, doesn’t hurt to have some help.” Selina laughed.

“So who exactly are you working for,” Bruce asked.

Selina crossed her arms. “I don’t know the big bosses name, just that Krow approached me with a very rewarding offer.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us about him,” Bruce asked. “Did he mention anything about making a big move?”

Selina placed a finger on her chin in thought. “Now that you mention it, he did mention something about the debate between Dent and Hill. He said it was something along the lines of a debut.”

“The debate,” Oswald repeated. “He’ll more than likely take hostages.” Bruce’s eyes went wide.

“Is there any way you could help us stop them,” Bruce asked Selina.

“Are you insane,” Selina replied angrily. “They already want my head on a chopping block. No way in hell am I risking my neck for two dolts who wanna play superhero.”

Bruce wanted to say more, but Oswald stopped him by placing his hand on Bruce’s arm. Oswald turned to face Selina. “I get it, you’ve already done more than necessary to help us, even if you didn’t want to. If I were you though, I would get out of Gotham as fast as possible. Who knows if this whole thing will go south?”

Selina scoffed. “No need to tell me twice.” With that, she went to the nearby fire escape and jumped up to grab the ladder to pull herself up. Bruce and Oswald watched her leave before they faced each other. Before either could say a word though, a small black device was dropped between them. Bruce picked it up and found it was an usb device.

“Huh, wonder what’s in this,” Bruce said as he got out his phone to dial Alfred.

“A little parting gift from the kitten it seems,” Oswald commented before Alfred picked up.

“Bruce, is everything alright,” Alfred asked. “I’m noticing some police activity near your location.”

“Everything’s fine,” Bruce replied. “Listen Alfred, I’m sending you some data from an usb. Have the Batcomputer analyze it real quick.”

“Understood,” Alfred said. There was a brief pause before Bruce heard Alfred gasp. “Sir, this seems to be calls form Krow’s phone. It appears he’s been calling Mayor Hill.”

“What,” Bruce said harshly, making Oswald jump.

“I’m playing the last message now.” There was a brief pause before Hill’s voice started talking.

_“Listen, I gave you everything on Wayne that I could. Now you hold up your end of the deal.”_

“What the hell is this,” Oswald nearly shouted. “Mayor Hill is working with Krow?!”

“Seems like it,” Bruce replied, and placed a calming hand on Oswald’s shoulder.

“We need to go and see him,” Oswald hurriedly suggested. “We need to squeeze any information we can out of him.”

“And we will,” Bruce said. “But we need to think carefully on this. We can’t go in guns blazing.”

“Agreed,” Alfred piped up. “I think it best if Oswald return to the cave for some reconnaissance on the theatre where the debate will be held.” Oswald angrily sighed, placing his head in his hand and dragging it down his face.

Oswald took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Alright, alright,” Oswald said. “I’ll head back to the cave. I’ll hack into the cameras around the theatre, and try to dig a little deeper into this USB.” Oswald took the drive from Bruce. “But that still leaves how you’re going to deal with Hill, Bruce.”

“I’d avoid going as Batman,” Alfred suggested. “Though his methods could get information out of Hill more effectively, it would ruin his reputation among the citizens.”

“There’s always going as Wayne though,” Oswald replied. “But Wayne will have to rely more on guile to get the good Mayors tongue wagging.”

Bruce mulled over everything as they made their way to the car. Once they got to it, Bruce made his decision. “I think Mayor hill is due a visit from Bruce Wayne.” Oswald nodded.

“Have Alfred send over the motorcycle. I’ll try to find out what I can on my end.”

“You get that Alfred, “Bruce said into the phone.

“Already done, Master Oz.”

“Right then.” Oswald sighed, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw Bruce looking at him with concern. Bruce placed a hand on the side of Oswald’s face before he leaned in for a kiss. Oswald instantly relaxed, and leaned further into the kiss.

“You know we’ll get through this, right,” Bruce asked.

“I know we will,” Oswald replied. Because no matter what life threw at them, as long as they were together, nothing could stop the duo. There was the sound of an engine revving on the empty street. “Sounds like my rides here,” Oswald said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his ears.

“I’ll see you at home,” Bruce said as Oswald mounted the bike.

“Give Mayor Hill hell,” Oswald replied.

* * *

 

Batcave:

Oswald made it back safely to the Batcave and immediately went to the super computer. He looked through the city to fond the theatre where the Debate was being held that night. Once he had found it, he hacked into the cameras near the exits. Once that was done, he then put on his outfit when Alfred came down with a tray of tea.

“I see you’ve already hacked into the security feed of the debate.”

“Just to be sure,” Oswald replied with a grin.

“Of course,” Alfred said and placed the tea on the table in front of the supercomputer. “Any sightings yet?”

“Nothing at the moment,” Oswald said, then looked over to the

TV to see the news playing. They were still talking about Bruce’s alleged connection to the mafia, and even talked about how it may affect Harvey in the polls. He sighed. “I wished they would pick a new topic to talk about already.”

“Well, Bruce is arguably the most powerful man in Gotham,” Alfred commented. “The Wayne name carries weight. So when rumors spread of his parent’s involvement with the mafia, people wonder if the prodigal son follows in their steps.”

Oswald hummed as he turned back to the computer, thinking back on his days being raised in Wayne Manor. He had never noticed anything off about the Wayne’s when he was living with them, but he was also just a kid. No doubt Bruce was also clueless, since they were practically inseparable. Then Martha and Thomas died, and they were left orphaned. Oswald mentally sighed at the thought of being orphaned not once, but twice.

Oswald dragged his eyes back to the computer. As he took a sip of his tea, he noticed something was off. He looked closely at the screen and scowled when he finally noticed what was off. “Clever bastards.”

“What’s wrong,” Alfred asked worriedly.

“The feed hasn’t changed,” Oswald commented as he reached for his earpiece. “The image is looping.”

“Could it be that Krow and his goons managed to get ahold of the cameras first,” Alfred wondered.

“Call Bruce, Let him know what’s up,” Oswald said as he placed his mask on his head and touched his earpiece.

“Gordon here, what’s up?”

Oswald turned on his voice changer before he answered. “Krow and his goons are at the debate now.”

“Impossible,” Gordon replied. “We’ve got the place surrounded top to bottom.”

“We’ll be there soon,” Oswald said before ending the call. He revved the engine on his motorcycle and made a mad dash toward the debate. He hoped he wouldn’t be too late.

* * *

 

Wayne Memorial Auditorium:

Penguin was the last one to the party, it seemed. Gordon stood on a rooftop overlooking the Auditorium. Batman was also there, but what surprised him was the third addition to the mix: Catwoman.

“Well now, they say three’s a party, but four is a crowd,” Penguin greeted as he walked over to them. He looked over to Catwoman and said, “Didn’t know you were going to be here.”

Catwoman shrugged. “What can I say, I love a good party.” Gordon cleared his throat, bringing everyone’s attention to him.

“I wanna say I don’t like this,” Gordon said. He looked over at the auditorium. “But right now, I can’t be picky. I do Like working with the both of you,” He pointed at batman and Penguin, then looked over to Catwoman. “You however are a different story.” Catwoman simply shrugged. Gordon sighed. “Don’t make me regret this,” He said. With that, he turned back to the Auditorium, warning his men about the new developments.

Penguin immediately turned to Catwoman. “So why are you here? I thought you’d be miles out of town by now. “

“What can I say,” Catwoman replied. “What you guys did for me back at the bar… Debt is its own kind of cage, and I hate cages.”

“This should go more smoothly with the three of us,” Batman spoke up. “Thank you for coming.”

“Eh I figured we could take out Krow,” Catwoman replied with a smirk. “That way, I won’t have to worry about being skinned alive.”

“Right then,” Penguin said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Getting into the auditorium was the easy part. Once the three had entered the backstage area, they took out the first two armed guards. However, they soon learned of three more guarding hostages. They hid in secrecy, looking to formulate a plan of attack. It wasn’t until an armed guard came to take Vickki Vale to the stage that they had finally formulated a plan.

Penguin and Catwoman took out two of the armed guards from above, while Batman took out the last. After that was said and done Batman looked at the hostages and told them to make a break for the police line. Penguin saw them all to the door and once he got back looked over to the screen that was broadcasting the entire debate.

On it, Krow was displayed, though his entire face was covered by a red crow mask. He was holding Vickki Vale at gunpoint, telling her she was the new moderator for the evening. “Well this debate went to shit real quickly,” Penguin noted.

“We need to get on stage,” Batman said.

Best way to do that unseen is to use the scaffolding and light fixtures,” Catwoman replied.

“Either way we need to do something quick,” Penguin said before he led the silent charge.

Quickly ad silently, the three vigilantes silently found a way onto the stage without being seen. “I hope you guys are gonna make a move soon,” Gordon said through his communicator. “A bunch of people just saw the moderator get shot.”

Neither Batman nor Penguin made a comment, opting to stay silent for this task. As they made their way up one scaffolding, Krow forced Vickki to inject both Mayor Hill and Harvey with a liquid. No doubt it was the same drug that was injected into officer Montoya.

“Time to rip off those masks, fellas and let everyone see what you really think,” Krow said. “First question: What is your solution to make Gotham better?”

Mayor Hill was the first to respond. “My first action would be to burn every last one of the poor. Those e who claim they can’t get jobs and leech off of the rest of us.”

“Harsh, yet interesting,” Krow commented then turned to Harvey. “Mr. Dent, your thoughts?”

“You really want to know what I think, “Harvey asked through strained teeth.

“Of course,” Krow commented.

“I think our city is flawed,” Harvey started. “But what city doesn’t have those flaws. I think flaws are what make Gotham beautiful. But I want to make it even better, by smoothing out the flaws, by actually solving the problems of our city, so that everyone has a chance to see how great Gotham is.”

“What is going on in there,” Gordon asked. “This debate is turning into a circus.” But neither man responded, as the trio settled on top of the lighting fixture directly over the stage.

“Now that questions are out of the way,” Krow said, spreading his arms out in showmanship, as a screen was slowly lowering itself onto the stage. “A little word from our sponsor.”

The projector activated and a person wearing a weird looking mask with what appeared to be a jacket with an unsavory amount of belts on appeared. “People of Gotham,” they said. “For too long the politically corrupt and wealthy have run this town. They would have you think that they have what’s best in mind for you, but I have here evidence of just how rotten the roots of this city are.”

A video recording suddenly popped up. In it were four people: Mayor Hill, Mrs. Cobblepot who was strapped down to a bed, an attendant at the Arkham Asylum, and Thomas Wayne.

“Wait, I thought Thomas Wayne was dead,” Catwoman commented.

“He is,” Penguin replied. But he was wondering what was even going on.

“Please Thomas,” Mrs. Cobblepot spoke, sounding like she was near to tears. “I’ll sell you the land, just don’t do this. Our kids play together for Christ sake.”

“You were warned of what would happen if you didn’t meet our demands,” Mayor Hill responded.

Thomas turned to the attendant. “Give her a dose she’ll never recover from,” he said. The attendant nodded and proceeded to inject Mrs. Cobblepot with what was most likely the same drug that had been used on newer victims. The only sound was that of Mrs. Cobblepot screaming as the screen went black.

“Jesus,” was all Catwoman could say.

“Christ, my men are coming in,” Gordon said after viewing what had just happened. The front door suddenly burst open as cops started to run in. A firefight broke out between the mercenaries and the GCPD.

Batman took out one of his smoke bombs and dropped it in a group of mercenaries below them. The trio dropped down and quickly took out the group. Penguin was the first to get up onstage to face Krow.

“Well, what an unexpected surprise,” Krow taunted. “By the way, I made a new friend since our last encounter. Why don’t you two get to know each other?”

Two blue arms suddenly wrapped around Penguins torso and began squeezing. Penguin could feel his rib cage starting to give way as the breath was forcefully squeezed out of him. Suddenly he was on all fours on the floor, taking in huge gulps of air. Penguin looked behind him to see Batman fighting off a big bald blue man.

“Go after Krow,” Batman shouted. Penguin nodded and faced Krow once more. However, Krow now had Harvey by the neck in front of him, a gun pointed at the DA’s temple.

“Not one more step,” Krow said menacingly. Penguin merely grunted and balled up his fist. Harvey saw this, and made his own move. By head-butting Krow with the back of his head. Krow yelled out and threw Harvey to the ground. “Why you little…” Krow pointed the Gun at Harvey once more, but Penguin was quick to react this time.

With a flick of his wrist, Penguin threw a dagger at Krow’s gun and knocked it out of his hand. Penguin then dashed over and punched Krow in the face. EH turned to give Harvey Dent a hand and pulled them man to his feet.

“Thank you, “Harvey said. “I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t here.”

“Touching, really,” Krow said. Penguin turned to face him, blocking Harvey from harm. “But I’m afraid I can’t leave here without doing something important.” He pointed the gun at Penguin and pulled the trigger. However, instead of a bullet, a ball of fire erupted from the gun.

Penguin wouldn’t be able to move Harvey in time, so he stood there, arms outstretched and ready to take the hit. However, fate had other plans in mind. A hand suddenly shoved penguin to the side, and he watched in horror as Harvey took the hit on the right side of his face.

Harvey screamed as the flames engulfed his face. Penguin tried to put the flames out, but no matter how he tried, the burned fiercely. It wasn’t until Penguin heard a snap of fingers that the fames stopped. Penguin turned to see Krow standing there with a raised hand. The gun was nowhere to be seen and the red crow Oswald saw the other day was perched on Krow’s shoulder.

“How sad that thigs turned out this way,” Krow commented before he laughed.

“You bastard,” Penguin shouted as he charged at Krow. However, just as penguin got to Krow, Krow looked as if he fell down, and Penguin missed his punch. Penguin looked down, only to see Krow gone, with nothing but a round scorch mark in his wake.

Penguin ran back over to Harvey just as the fight was winding down. Harvey was in a fetal position, the right side of his face horribly burned. Harvey twitched in pain as he lay there.

“I’m so sorry Harvey,” Penguin commented as Gordon came up behind him.

“What happened, where is Krow,” Gordon stopped talking as soon as he saw Harvey. “Jesus, someone call a medic we need to get Mr. Dent to a hospital NOW!”

Penguin looked behind him at the devastation from tonight’s debate. There were chairs scattered everywhere. Cops lay on the ground wounded, or worse. It also seemed as though Mayor Hill was shot down during the fight, and that Catwoman had made her escape.

Batman ran up to Penguin and asked. “What happened?”

* * *

 

Gotham Hospital, Morning:

Oswald sat by Harvey’s bedside, his face now treated and bandaged, wondering how this could have happened. Could he have done things differently? Was there any other way he could have saved Harvey from what had happened? He went over and over what happened last night and how he could have done things different. He came to the conclusion that he’d drive himself mad if he continued to think on it.

When he sat back, a familiar se of fingers found their way into his hair. Oswald looked up to find Bruce standing over him. “The doctors say he’ll be fine physically, but his face was badly burned.”

Oswald sighed. “I’m more worried about the mental scars,” Oswald said. “There’s no telling what will happen after today.”

“True,” Bruce replied. “But he’s our friend, and we’ll be there for him when he needs it most.” Bruce retracted his fingers from Oswald chair and grabbed a chair to drag beside Oswald. Once he sat down, he turned look at Oswald. “How are you holding up? After having seen that video?”

 “I’m not sure how to feel about it,” Oswald answered truthfully. “I just feel…. Empty.” Bruce looked at him worriedly. “How about you? How does all this make you feel?”

“Scared,” Bruce replied. “And angry. But mostly I feel lost. Where are we supposed to go from here?” There was a silence hanging over the two uncomfortably.

* * *

 

All around town, the news was spreading about what had happened at the previous night’s debate. There was also news about information being released to the public concerning the Wayne’s corrupt involvements. A group of people stood around an appliance store, watching the local news anchor cover everything. Suddenly the screen turned to static and the figure from last nights recording came on screen.

“Citizens of Gotham,” they cried, grabbing the video recorder. “We are the Children of Arkham, and we will set this city free!”


End file.
